Objectives: Recently, integrating digital technologies in healthcare has attracted increasing attention among clinical pharmacists (CPs). The purpose of this study was to systematically review a CP-led digital intervention to improve patients’ health-related clinical outcomes.

Methods: Medline and Cochrane Database were searched to select relevant articles published from January 2005 to August 2021. Articles were included if studies conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate clinical outcomes in adults following a CP-led digital intervention. Articles were excluded if (a) interventions were not delivered primarily by CPs; (b) interventions were not administered to patients; (c) the effects of the digital intervention were not able to be isolated; and (d) clinical outcomes from patients were not measured. The review was conducted following the recommendations of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement.

Results: A total of 19 studies were included in our final analyses. In these 19 studies, the most commonly used digital intervention by CPs was telephone use (n=15), followed by a web-based tool (n=2) and a mobile app (n=2). These interventions were provided to serve a wide range of purposes in patients’ outcomes: change in lab values (e.g., blood pressure, HbA1c) (n=23), reduction in health service use (n=8), enhancing adherence (n=6), improvement in drug-related outcomes (n=6), increase in survival (n=3), and reduction in health-related risk (e.g., CVD risk) (n=2). Overall, the impacts of telephone-based interventions in the studies were mixed. However, web-based interventions resulted in positive impacts on changes in lab values and health service use. CPs’ use of mobile apps significantly improved drug-related outcomes and reduced health service use.

Conclusions: Given the inconsistent impacts of telephone-based interventions on patients’ outcomes, CPs should be prudent in developing a telephone-based intervention. Positive impacts of web-based interventions and mobile apps suggest the benefits of continued use of these tools.