Critical Care Pharmacist Using Free Drug-Interaction Checker Mobile Apps Can Ensure Medication Safety in Critically Ill Patients

Abstract

Background: Critical care pharmacists (CCPs) have a key role in ensuring medication safety by screening drug-drug interactions (DIs) in polypharmacy prescriptions, mostly in critically ill patients. The drug-interaction checker mobile apps (DICMA) are freely available for smartphones. Objectives: The current study aimed to assess the utilization of smartphone-based free mobile apps by CCPs for ensuring drug-drug interaction-free polypharmacy prescriptions in critically ill patients. Methods: This observational study was conducted in an intensive care unit. Critical care pharmacists (CCPs) checked the medications of polypharmacy prescriptions to detect DIs or potential drug-drug interactions (PDIs) using free DICMA installed on their smartphones. DIs/PDIs were sent to physicians as suggestions, and the prescriptions were modified accordingly. Results: CCPs screened 2,967 prescriptions, where 11,128 and 3,932 DIs and PDIs were identified, respectively. Prescriptions with 6 to 10 medications and prescription with more than 10 medications, on average, had 3.28 and 7.53 DIs, respectively, and 1.42 and 4.7 PDIs, respectively. Physicians accepted 95.85% (n = 3,932) of PDI suggestions from CCPs and modified prescriptions, accordingly. CCPs reported a satisfaction level of 4 (on a scale of 5) concerning the use of free DICMA. Conclusions: Drug-drug interactions-free polypharmacy prescriptions can ensure medication safety in patients. CCPs are professionally responsible for this task, but resource-limited setups do not provide them scopes to accomplish this task efficiently. In this study, CCPs ensured medication safety in the prescriptions of critically ill patients efficiently using free DICMA installed on their smartphones.