Background: Hospital discharge is a critical step in transitions of care, exposing patients to adverse drug events. Community pharmacists play a key role in post-discharge medication management. However, they often face challenges clarifying hospital discharge prescriptions due to limited access to relevant information and communication gaps between hospital and ambulatory care.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate how hospital pharmacy hotlines can improve communication and support community pharmacists in resolving drug-related problems (DRPs) on hospital discharge prescriptions.

Methods: Pharmaceutical hotlines answered by hospital pharmacists were implemented in three regional hospitals. Community pharmacists could use the hotline when facing DRPs or to obtain additional information about the hospital discharge prescriptions. For each query, the rate of resolution without physician involvement and the type of DRP were documented. Satisfaction was assessed through online questionnaires at the end of the study.

Results: The hotlines were implemented during 2 months in two hospitals and 6 months in the third. Community pharmacists raised 185 questions using the hotlines, 54 % of which were resolved without the need to contact the physician. The most common DRPs were unclear or incomplete prescriptions (n = 60, 32 %), medication unavailability (n = 29, 16 %), and drug-drug interactions (n = 22, 12 %). Of the 95 community pharmacies surveyed, 46 responded, with 87 % expressing satisfaction with the hospital pharmacy hotlines.

Conclusion: The hospital pharmacy hotlines proved to be an effective tool to improve intraprofessional collaboration and support community pharmacists in managing hospital discharge prescriptions, with more than half of DRPs resolved without the need to contact the physician.