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Patients in intensive care units who don't receive care from a pharmacist for even one day of their stay are 20% more likely to die, according to new research led by the University of Georgia. The work is published in the journal CHEST.

The study also found ICU patients were 10% more likely to die when pharmacists were responsible for more than 15 patients. For every one-patient increase in a pharmacist's workload, the odds of a patient dying increased by 1%.

"Critically ill patients experience an average of 1.7 medical errors per day, and nearly 80% of serious errors are caused by medications," said Susan Smith, lead author of the study and an associate professor in UGA's College of Pharmacy. Smith also practices critical care pharmacy in a local ICU. "The comprehensive medication management provided by pharmacists is essential for ensuring medication safety."

The researchers analyzed data from 213 pharmacists across 64 hospitals. The pharmacists provided information on their workload and every patient they cared for each day for 100 consecutive days, resulting in data from more than 28,000 patients. The researchers then compiled information on those patients' severity of illness, health outcomes and more.

"Previous research has shown that having pharmacists present in ICUs is good and that it improves outcomes," Smith said.

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