Drug Utilization Review Alerts and Pharmacist Interventions in Two Community Pharmacies in Korea

Objective: Drug utilization review (DUR) alerts are designed to prevent medicationrelated problems.However, their clinical significance in community pharmacies requires pharmacist assessment.This study examined DUR alerts, pharmacist interventions, and intervention outcomes.Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted at two community pharmacies in Busan, Korea, from 28 July to 22 August 2025.Prescriptions with DUR alerts were reviewed using prescription records and intervention notes.Alert types, duplicated drugs, pharmacist interventions, exception reasons, and final outcomes were analyzed.Alert-related causes were classified according to the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe classification version 9.1.Duplicate drugs were classified by the second level of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system.Results: DUR alerts occurred in 254 prescriptions (3.47% of overall prescriptions; 276 alerts).Same-ingredient duplication (50.36%) and therapeutic class duplication (42.39%) accounted for most alerts.Of the 254 alert prescriptions, 35 (13.78%) involved discussion with prescribers, whereas 219 (86.22%) were managed through patient counselling.Prescriber discussion was followed by prescription modification in 22 cases.The most common outcomes were discontinuation of previous medications before starting the new prescription (37.80%) and sequential use after completing existing medications (27.17%).Among 251 duplicate drug pairs, anti-inflammatory and antirheumatic drugs (11.95%), antihistamines (11.5%), and analgesics (9.56%) were most common.Cause classification indicated that alerts reflected not only unnecessary duplication but also patient-related causes.Conclusion: Community pharmacists translated DUR alerts into medication-safety interventions through patient counselling, medicationuse planning, and collaboration with prescribers.DUR systems should be supported by pharmacist assessment after electronic alerts.(PeRM 2026;18