Inpatient psychiatry patient medication education groups: A retrospective observational case series evaluating education provided on prescribed psychiatric medications at discharge and documentation practices

Introduction: Patient medication education groups (PMEGs) during inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations have occurred for over 40 years. It is unknown to what degree patients are educated on their prescribed medications following PMEGs, or, pharmacist PMEG documentation practices. Objectives: The primary objective was to determine the percentage of patients educated on their newly prescribed or continued psychiatric medications at hospital discharge during daily pharmacy-delivered education sessions at an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Methods: This single-center, six-month, retrospective observational case series of PMEGs and individual education occurred during acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Educational content was adapted by the board-certified psychiatric pharmacist (BCPP) to emphasize medications that attendees wished to discuss. Data collection included demographics, medications prescribed at discharge, educational content provided, and documentation by pharmacy staff regarding attendees' behaviors and shared medication experiences. The chi-square test was used to determine differences in percentages of patients educated on psychiatric medication classes. Results: A total of 87 PMEGs and 90 individual patient education were performed, reaching 230 unique patients. The average patient attended two PMEGs. Patients prescribed the following scheduled medication classes at discharge were educated on them: antipsychotics (76.3%), antidepressants (67.3%), antiepileptic drugs (66.7%), substance use disorder medications (63.6%), lithium (60%), and non-antidepressant anti-anxiety medications (58.6%). Education was provided more frequently on newly prescribed medication classes (79%) compared to continued medication classes at discharge (58.3%) (p = 0.00001). Individual patient interactions during educational sessions documented behavioral or psychiatric symptoms (68%), patient-sharing experience with medications (39%), medication-related concerns (28%), medication efficacy comments (18%), and interest in pharmacotherapy modification (14%). Conclusion: Nearly 80% of patients who attended PMEG or met individually with the BCPP were educated on newly prescribed scheduled psychiatric medications. Additional research is needed to determine patient preference of how education is delivered, and how PMEGs impact pharmacist interventions, medication adherence, and hospital readmission rates.