Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Pharmacotherapy in a Medical Organization: A Pilot Study

INTRODUCTION. Validated tools for assessing the quality and safety of pharmacotherapy, widely used for scientific and expert purposes, have proven effective in improving treatment quality and optimizing costs. However, their application in routine clinical practice is often limited by the complexity of the assessment procedure and interpretation of results, as well as the lack of adaptation to national clinical guidelines. Therefore, the development of a comprehensive method based on a qualitative and quantitative assessment of pharmacotherapy compliance with clinical guidelines and the criteria of efficacy, rationality, and safety remains relevant.

AIM. To develop and pilot-test an adapted tool, the Pharmacotherapy Assessment Card (the Card), for standardized qualitative and quantitative assessment of pharmacotherapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. The basis of the Card was Form No. 313/u, approved by Order No. 494 of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation dated October 22, 2003. For quantitative assessment of the criteria, additional tools were integrated into the Card: the modified Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) and the GerontoNet scale. Evaluation of drug interactions was performed using the Drug-Drug Interactions database. Pilot testing of the Card was conducted using 80 medical records of patients in a multidisciplinary hospital.

RESULTS. The Pharmacotherapy Assessment Card includes 8 criteria for qualitative and quantitative assessment of pharmacotherapy, derived by comparing and integrating criteria from various international validated scales. For example, to objectively assess the criterion “risk of adverse drug reactions,” the GerontoNet scale was applied with a threshold value of ≥4 points. Pilot testing confirmed the applicability of most criteria. The mean assessment time was 90 minutes (decreasing with experience). The integral assessment showed that pharmacotherapy met the rationality criteria in 19.2% of cases (score 6–7), insufficient compliance with criteria was found in 45.2% (score 8–10), partial compliance with criteria in 35.6% (score 11–13), and there were no cases of complete non-compliance with criteria (score 14–16).

CONCLUSIONS. The developed Pharmacotherapy Assessment Card represents a practical tool that combines qualitative and quantitative metrics based on international standardized methods. The tool enables both a quantitative score-based result and a structured conclusion with recommendations for therapy optimization. Further prospective validation of the Pharmacotherapy Assessment Card is planned to confirm reliability and establish statistically justified threshold values for each criterion.

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