Designing and implementing a virtual cardiac hospital in the home pharmacy service: a retrospective analysis

Abstract Background Virtual pharmacy services improve medication safety in emerging models of care. Integrating pharmacists into virtual multidisciplinary teams supports safer transitions, optimised therapies, and improved access to pharmaceutical care. Aim To design, implement, and evaluate a virtual clinical pharmacy service within a new Hospital in the Home Virtual Care (HITH‐VC) program. Method A clinical pharmacist was embedded in a virtual multidisciplinary team, including nursing case managers and cardiologists to provide remote care for cardiology and post‐cardiac surgery patients. The patient journey was mapped to identify key medication management points. Evaluation was conducted via a retrospective audit using electronic medical records. Key outcomes included medication reconciliation rates, patient counselling, therapeutic interventions, facilitation of medication supply, and pharmacist contributions to discharge summaries. Ethical approval was granted by the Austin Health Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference no: HREC/91807/Austin‐2022) and the study conforms with the Australian National statement on ethical conduct in human research . Results Between 15 March 2022–30 September 2022, 140 patients were admitted to HITH‐VC. Clinical pharmacists operated remotely: they performed medication reconciliation for all 140 patients, attended 241 virtual ward rounds, counselled 54% of patients, recommended therapy changes for 42% of patients, liaised with community pharmacies for 23% of patients, and contributed to 91% of discharge summaries. Conclusion A comprehensive virtual pharmacy service was successfully integrated into the HITH‐VC model. Pharmacists supported key aspects of patient care, proactively managed medication‐related risks during care transitions, and strengthened links to community services. These findings highlight the critical role of clinical pharmacists in virtual care teams to optimise medication safety and clinical outcomes.