An interventional study of Structured pharmaceutical discharge management in Cancer, Heart Failure and COPD, sponsored by University Hospital Muenster. Recruiting at 1 site in Germany. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-06-13.
Sponsored by University Hospital Muenster · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
The transition of palliative care patients from inpatient to outpatient care is aimed to be improved through structured pharmaceutical discharge management by a trained pharmacist. This data will be compared with retrospective cases.
As part of a prospective observational study with a retrospective comparison group, a pharmacist should, on request, check the discharge medication planned by the primary care physicians before discharge and discuss it with the various colleagues providing (follow-up) care. In addition, the availability in the outpatient "medicine cabinet" and the possibility of prescribing by the responsible GPs (by telephone) should be checked in advance. In addition, longitudinal focus groups with relevant stakeholders are to be conducted to collect quantitative data as well as qualitative data on the views of those providing and receiving treatment.
There will be cooperation with the Specialized Outpatient Palliative Care Service Muenster to ensure sufficient case numbers and a low rate of missing values through partial use of the standard care data from the "Information System Palliative Care" (ISPC) program they use.
5,701 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Failure; 1,220 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 200 is above the median of 72 across 3,736 interventional studies indexed under Heart Failure.
Browse Heart Failure studies →University Hospital Muenster is the lead sponsor of 189 studies on the registry; 18 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
All individual indications for general and specialised palliative care as part of routine clinical practice (e.g.):
Exclusion Criteria:
Impossibility of understanding the information and declaration of consent.
Current palliative care patients who are discharged from the University Hospital to outpatient palliative care.
Other: Structured pharmaceutical discharge management
Former palliative care patients who were discharged from the university hospital to outpatient palliative care.
These patients will receive structured pharmaceutical discharge management from inpatient to outpatient care.
(I) Drug-related problems
(I) Number of drug-related problems at the time of discharge according to PCNE (comparison of prospective, actually proposed changes vs. hypothetical number and type of problems at the time of discharge in the retrospective comparison cohort)
Time frame: 12 months
(II) Drug-related problems
(II) Type of drug-related problems at the time of discharge according to PCNE (comparison of prospective, actually proposed changes vs. hypothetical number and type of problems at the time of discharge in the retrospective comparison cohort)
Time frame: 12 months
Number of contacts
Number of contacts made by patients/relatives with SOPC within 7 days of discharge
Time frame: 12 months
Number of readmissions / visits
Number of readmissions and / or visits to the emergency department within 7 and 14 days after hospital discharge
Time frame: 12 months
Symptom burden
Change in patient symptom burden via Integrated Palliative Care Outcome. The total scores using the IPOS can range between 0 and 68 points. The higher the score, the more severe are the patient's symptoms. Scale after 3, 7 and 14 days compared to day 0 (discharge date)
Time frame: 12 months
(I) Medication changes
(I) Number of medication changes suggested by pharmacists according to PCNE
Time frame: 12 months
Adoption rate
Adoption rate by the primary care physicians of the pharmacist's proposed changes after PCNE (see primary endpoint)
Time frame: 12 months
(I) GP contact
(I) Contact made with GPs for medication planning
Time frame: 12 months
(I) SOPC contact
(I) Contact made with SOPC for medication planning and (II) resulting changes to discharge medication
Time frame: 12 months
(I) Post-discharge medication changes
Change in the number of medications in outpatient follow-up care
Time frame: 12 months
Focus groups
Satisfaction of inpatient physicians and those providing further treatment with forward-looking medication planning in 3 focus groups
Time frame: 12 months
(I) Further parameters
(I)Evaluation of further quantitative parameters from ISPC (SOPC)
Time frame: 12 months
(II) Medication changes
(II) Type of medication changes suggested by pharmacists according to PCNE
Time frame: 12 months
(II) GP contact
(II) Resulting changes to discharge medication following GP contact
Time frame: 12 months
(II) SOPC contact
(II) Resulting changes to discharge medication following SOPC contact
Time frame: 12 months
(II) Post-discharge medication changes
(II) Qualitative assessment of medication changes (classification of drug-related problems according to PCNE)
Time frame: 12 months
(II) Further parameters
(II) Evaluation of further quantitative parameters from the clinical information system (UKM)
Time frame: 12 months
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
University Hospital Muenster