Renal Pharmacist

Between 20-25% of all inpatients have renal insufficiency and are therefore at high risk for drug-related problems, such as an unnoticed contraindication or a lack of dose adjustment. To improve medication safety, a renal pharmacist—a pharmacist with a special focus on patients with impaired kidney function—can identify drug-related problems through medication reviews and resolve them in collaboration with the attending physician. However, this service is not yet standard care in German hospitals. The Foundation Patient & Clinical Pharmacy has funded this project at four non-university hospitals in Germany with the aim of increasing patient safety in this vulnerable patient group.

Congratulations to the 4 hospital pharmacies whose projects were selected after completing the two-stage selection process.

Pharmacy Rudolf Virchow Klinikum Glauchau
Hospital pharmacy KKiMK Iserlohn
Hospital pharmacy Klinikverbund Südwest Sindelfingen
Pharmacy Klinikum Starnberg

Project coordinator:

Dr. Sarah Seiberth, Marktredwitz

Helpful information for clinical pharmaceutical practice

Renal Pharmacists team at the 48th scientific congress of the Federal Association of German Hospital Pharmacists 2023 in Nuremberg

From left to right:

Dr. Andreas von Ameln-Mayerhofer, Stefanie Hecht, Nicole Speidel, Jana Klöppel, Ina Richling, Dr. Sarah Friederike Seiberth

World Patient Safety Day

APS event with the motto "Safe medication - make yourself strong for patient safety" on 15.09.2022 in Berlin

First Place at the German Award for Patient Safty

on 12 May 2022 awarded by Aktionsbündnis Patientensicherheit

Image licence: APS e.V./M.Schulz

Award ceremony 1st Award for Patient Safety of the Aktionsbündnis Patientensicherheit (APS)

From left to right:

Laudator Xenia Freifrau von Maltzan, award winners Ina Richling (pharmD), Dr. von Ameln-Mayerhofer, Larissa Albus, Jana Rudolph, Ann-Kristin Gerke, Katrin Bayerlein

Publications as part of the project

An article on the Renal Pharmacist multicentre project was published in an international journal:

Seiberth S, Bayerlein K, Gerke AK, Ihbe-Heffinger A, Schobel HP, Rudolph J, Leuschner S, Müller P, Richling I, Owandner B, Schmidt-Schnaubelt T, Sieg M, Albus L, Ameln-Mayerhofer A, Strobach D. Multicenter Renal Pharmacist Group—Pharmaceutical Care for Patients with Renal Impairment at Four Non-University Hospitals in Germany. J. Clin. Med. 2025, 14(13), 4530 (open access)

Click here for the article.

Two posters on the Renal Pharmacist project were presented at the 6th Congress for Patient Safety in Drug Therapy 2024 in Berlin:

Selected hospital pharmacies

Jana Rudolph (pharmacist) during the curve visit with Nazar Sadiq (senior physician) and Uta Schlosser (nursing) at Rudolf Virchow Klinikum Glauchau

Pharmacy Rudolf Virchow Hospital Glauchau

The renal pharmacist project started on February 1st, 2020 at the Rudolf Virchow Hospital Glauchau. The pharmacists Jana Rudolph and Sarah Leuschner have been screening surgical, geriatric and psychiatric patients for renal impairment on a daily basis. The patients charts of all patients with a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (CKD-EPI) were reviewed for renal and other drug-related problems.

Up to now, the renal pharmacist conducted more than 894 medication reviews with 319 intervention recommendations forwarded as written consultations. As a consequenceof the new pharmaceutical service at the point of care senior surgeons and orthopedics asked for pharmaceutical consultation on their wards as well.

Ina Richling (pharmacist) and Boris Owandner (senior physician) during curve rounds on the ward at the KKiMK

Central Pharmacy KKiMK, Iserlohn

Since February 2020 the renal pharmacists Ina Richling, Pharm. D. (UFl, USA) and Dr. Philipp Müller supervised all patients with renal impairment at the Catholic hospital im Märkischen Kreis. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays they conducted interdisciplinary chart rounds with senior physicians onsurgical and geriatric wards. Patients with an eGFR < 50 ml/min /1.73 m2 (CKD-EPI) were selected and reviewed for renal drug-related problems (DRP). The necessary drug or dose changes to solve DRP were directly discussed with the physicians and documented as a written consultation in ORBIS. In addition, at the request of the physicians, a pharmacist-led medication review was carried out once a week for all hospital patients with an eGFR < 30 ml/min/1.73 m2. 1231 patients have received pharmaceutical care from the renal pharmacists. Through a press interview with the pharmacist Ina Richling and the senior physician in charge of the orthopedic and trauma surgery Boris Owandner the project was made public.

Central Pharmacy Klinikverbund Südwest

Sindelfingen

The renal pharmacist project started on June 1st, 2020 at the Hospital Sindelfingen. The team around Dr. Andreas von Ameln-Mayerhofer, Ms. Meike Sieg (until August 31st, 2021) and Ms. Larissa Albus (since September 1st, 2021) has conducted medication reviews of all patients with an eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (CKD-EPI ). The renal function was filtered manually from the laboratory program. The medications were checked for renal as well as other drug-related problems. The intervention proposals were primarily discussed with physicians personally, otherwise written consultations were stored in the patient’s chart. As part of the geriatric complex treatment, the pharmacists accompanied the physicians once a week on ward rounds. In addition, recommendations were offered on patient-specific drug dosage, in particular to avoid the nephrotoxic effects of aminoglycosides and vancomycin.

Ann-Kristin Gerke (pharmacist) and Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Paul Schobel (nephrologist) during joint curve rounds on the ward at Starnberg Hospital.

Pharmacy Hospital Starnberg

Since January 2020 the renal pharmacists Katrin Bayerlein and Ann-Kristin Gerke have been identifying drug-related problems (DRP) twice a week in patients with moderate to severe kidney disease (CKD stage 3b and 4) across all departments at the Hospital Starnberg.

In doing so, they contributed to an interdisciplinary nephrological care concept. The practical solution of DRP was recommended on the basis of a comprehensive pharmacist-led medication review . In cooperation with the head nephrologist Prof. Dr. Hans-Paul Schobel, the renal pharmacists carried out 1435 medication reviews. Through the interdisciplinary exchange between medical doctors in charge, the nephrologist and the pharmacist, the patient safety of patients with renal impairment increased.

A press release on the World Patient Safety Day 2021 communicated the project to a wider audience on a local level.