Improving medication care for children with complex medical needs

Optimizing the Clinical Management of Polypharmacy for Children with Medical Complexity

['FUNDING_R01'] · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · NIH-11247581

A pharmacist-led medication review aims to reduce medication problems for children with complex medical needs who take many medicines.

Quick facts

Phase['FUNDING_R01']
Study typeNih_funding
SexAll
SponsorUNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER (nih funded)
Locations1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES)
Trial IDNIH-11247581 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this research studies

You and your child would be invited to a program where a pharmacist reviews all medicines using a structured Pediatric Medication Therapy Management (pMTM) approach. Children are randomly assigned to receive this pharmacist-led review or usual care, and the team follows families over time to track medication-related problems, symptom burden, and emergency visits or hospital stays. The intervention combines clinical visits, chart review, and pharmacist recommendations shared with the medical team and caregivers. The study also looks at how well pMTM can be put into routine pediatric care.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Children with medical complexity who take five or more medications at the same time, along with their caregivers, are the ideal participants.

Not a fit: Children who are not on multiple medications, are clinically stable on few medicines, or adults are unlikely to benefit from this pediatric-focused program.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce harmful medication problems, improve symptoms, and lower emergency visits and hospitalizations for children with complex medical needs.

How similar studies have performed: Pharmacist-led medication therapy management has improved medication safety in adults and older adults, but it has not been widely tested in children with medical complexity.

Where this research is happening

Aurora, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.

View on NIH RePORTER →

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.