Professional Pharmacists Research Articles

Beyond the Classroom: An Observational Study to Assess Student Pharmacists' Confidence and Perception of a High-Fidelity Manikin Chemotherapy Infusion Reaction Simulation.

Objective: To assess the impact of a high-fidelity manikin chemotherapy infusion simulation on student pharmacists' confidence in applying clinical knowledge and perception of oncology pharmacy practice. Methods: One cohort of third professional year student pharmacists completed a high-fidelity manikin simulation during the last week of their didactic training. The 10-minute manikin experience simulated an acute paclitaxel infusion reaction, requiring students to apply their knowledge on how to provide patient care during a chemotherapy-induced infusion reaction. A pre- and post-survey was administered to determine whether there was a change in students' confidence and perception. Results: Thirty-three student pharmacists (62%) completed the pre- and post-surveys and manikin simulation. A statistically significant improvement was seen in median confidence scores when comparing pre- and post-questions of all 10 survey items (P < 0.001). Students' perception of oncology pharmacy and the manikin simulation had mean of 4.4 on a 0- to 5-point Likert scale. Conclusion: The high-fidelity manikin experience improved student pharmacists' post-survey confidence of applying clinical skills. In addition, students' perception of oncology pharmacy improved and the use of a manikin simulation to support didactic learning was seen as an additional avenue for delivering didactic curriculum. This study explored the feasibility of introducing a manikin simulation into the oncology pharmacy curriculum and the benefit of providing hands-on application of clinical skills to support didactic concept-based learning.

Living with COVID-19 and Sustaining a Tourism Recovery—Adopting a Front-Line Collaborative Response between the Tourism Industry and Community Pharmacists

While the COVID-19 pandemic evolves and new variants emerge, destinations and cities look to tourism recovery, cautiously rebooting and re-opening borders. Since the start of the pandemic, dramatic lockdowns have been employed, resulting in dire economic and social consequences to the tourism and hospitality industry and creating the need for a more feasible and sustainable response in the post-pandemic era. Pandemic vigilance and resilience at the societal level have become key in pandemic preparedness. However, due to the complexity of managing COVID-19, no clear cross-disciplinary collaborative framework for tourism recovery has been developed. Cross-sector collaboration to collectively integrate resources, capabilities, and experiences should be prioritised to spearhead tourism recovery plans. With insight on public health, pandemic preparedness, and community access, we hypothesised that cross-industry collaboration between the tourism industry and the pharmacist profession is relevant to the measures adopted for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. To examine this hypothesis, this study aimed to explore perceptions from key stakeholders in the tourism and the pharmacist sectors on cross-industry collaboration towards COVID-19 management and the “know-how” in developing, adopting, and advancing such a partnership. This exploratory study adopts and advances the ‘Four Cs’ conceptual framework of communication, cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. In terms of our hypothesis, interview responses with tourism executives and CPs confirm the framework’s suitability and the importance of an interdisciplinary collaborative approach between CPs and the tourism sector to craft a sustainable pathway to recovery from COVID-19 and future pandemic measures as borders re-open and international mobility increases. A tourism recovery strategy from this pandemic can occur more judiciously through a collaborative partnership with an extensive network of pharmacists within communities and popular tourism sites, as CPs have valuable healthcare resources and the ability to track and communicate healthcare alerts to tourism destination recovery efforts.

GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PHARMACEUTICAL HERITAGE: THE PROBLEM OF PERIODIZATION

The emergence and formation of the historical and cultural pharmaceutical heritage is due to the processes that took place in the field of museum development and in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the evolution of the pharmacist profession itself. The genesis of the historical and cultural pharmaceutical heritage began in the Renaissance and lasted until the second half of the 19th century when formation of the first pharmaceutical collections began. Pharmacists were active collectors of medicinal products of plant, animal and mineral origin. The second stage in the evolution of the historical and cultural pharmaceutical heritage covers the period from the second half of the 19th century to the 1940s and is marked by the emergence of the first pharmaceutical museums. The third stage began in the 1950s and continues to this day. It is characterized as the "boom" of the emergence of pharmaceutical museums around the world.

ADVERTISING OF MEDICINES FOR HUMAN USE. PERSPECTIVES FROM EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE

The present study aims, in the reflection of a decision given by the European Court of Justice to analyze the way to (re) establish the protection of persons in online sales of medicines, both against excessive consumption of medicines generated by advertising, self-medication and the harmful effects of long-term medication not adapted to the person's health. This method is found in the French Consumer Code and is a real connection between the requirements of the pharmacist profession and the requirements of public health protection. Given that a similar protection measure is not included in our legislation, the French regulation would be a good model for a proposal of lege ferenda in the matter.During the Conference "Public safety and the need for high social capital", panel VII, "Protection of human capital in the field of the right to health and social care" was organized, and this study aims to raise the protection of human capital, through rules and jurisprudence which gives efficiency to the concept of "public health". Or, the protection of the population through regulations regarding the distribution of medicines is part of this broad concept.

Enforcement of the Code Of Ethics of Pharmacist Proffesion in Kabupaten Sidoarjo

This study raises the formulation of the problem on how to Enforce the Code of Ethics of the Pharmacist Profession in Sidoarjo Regency and how the Ethical Accountability can be imposed on Pharmacists if they commit a violation. Pharmacists namely PC IAI Sidoarjo Regency and MEDAI D East Java were then linked to existing regulations and libraries, based on the analysis conducted, it was found that the enforcement of the code of ethics for the pharmacist profession in Sidoarjo Regency is the responsibility of the East Java Regional MEDAI, besides that there is still a lack of open access for the community. as well as a monitoring pattern that is only based on complaints, besides that, it is also found that there is a distribution of criteria for violations in the implementing regulations that are not specifically explained, based on the results of the analysis, it can be concluded that enforcement The code of ethics for the pharmacist profession in the district still tends to be passive because it is only based on complaints without direct supervision.

Health-Care Professionals' Knowledge and Practice Regarding Disposal of Medicines in Primary Health-Care Facilities in South Africa: Impact and Implications.

Objective:Professional nurses, pharmacists, and medical practitioners are responsible for disposing of medicines within health-care facilities. South African regulations stipulate that medicines should not be disposed of through sewage systems because of the potential impact on patients and the environment. Consequently, our objective was to determine knowledge and practices among health-care professionals (HCPs) in South Africa and the information they provide to patients regarding the safe disposal of unused/expired/damaged medicines to provide future guidance with identified concerns.Methods:A descriptive study was conducted among 165 HCPs at 16 primary health-care clinics in two subdistricts of the city of Tshwane in Gauteng Province through self-administered questionnaires.Findings:Only 23.5% of HCPs stated that they participated in destroying medicines within their facilities. More than half (65.1%) also reported that they always counsel patients regarding the safe storage of their medicines in their homes, with 27.9% indicating they counsel patients on the safe disposal of their medicines during consultations. More than half (65.1%) also reported that patients never asked about the disposal of medicines. Of concern is that incineration (31.9%), flushing down the toilet (20.6%), and flushing down the sink (9.9%) were regarded by HCPs as correct disposal methods, while 9.6% stated that they did not know the correct methods. In addition, 71.1% reported never receiving training regarding the safe disposal of medicine.Conclusion:There is an urgent need to educate HCPs regarding appropriate medicine waste disposal in South Africa. This can start with including this topic in the curriculum of HCPs, including pharmacists, and continuing post qualification.

Edukasi Apoteker Cilik Terkait Pengenalan Obat Kepada Siswa Kelas 5 SD Negeri Mangkura 1 Makassar

Sources of information about drugs are pharmacists, but many people do not know the Pharmacist profession. This is causes problems not only in adults but in children. Lack of knowledge about drugs in children can lead to drug abuse. The purpose of this activity is to educate Young Pharmacists regarding the introduction of drugs and as an embodiment of drug awareness ambassadors from an early age. This activity has been carried out at SD Negeri Mangkura 1 Makassar with 54 participants from 5th-grade elementary school students. The method of implementing the activity begins with educating the pharmacist on delivering the Young Pharmacist material, singing the Young Pharmacist jingle, and continuing with a question and answer session regarding drug knowledge to elementary school students. This Young Pharmacist education activity got positive results for 5th-grade students of SD Negeri Mangkura 1 Makassar which was seen from the increase in student's knowledge about the Pharmacist profession and students were very enthusiastic about giving good choices or bad choices regarding the safety of drug use. In addition, two Young Pharmacist ambassadors were chosen as the embodiment of drug awareness ambassadors from an early age.

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Pharmacy Practices in the Tropics: Nigeria as a Case Study

As the pandemic was sudden and no time was given to prepare for the lockdown measure, pharmaceutical practices were significantly disrupted in the aspects of manufacturing and supplying drugs, sales, and profit-making. Therefore, this study assessed the impacts of COVID-19 crisis on pharmaceutical practices in Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design survey was adopted to draw information from the pharmacists (respondents) among the targeted population. 1,200 professional and practice pharmacists were systematically and randomly selected across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, while 1,118 copies of the administered questionnaire were retrieved, coded, and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics aided by the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23 to run the analyses. The findings showed that COVID-19 had negative impacts on pharmaceutical practices, especially in hospital and community practices. A 25%-49% decrease was highly indicated in sales, purchase orders, and profits, while the majority, 347 (31.04%) of the respondents, indicated that they had a 1%-24% decrease in their workforce. Also, total lockdown as a COVID-19 measure increased the level of insecurity and inflation during the pandemic. 75.13% of the pharmacists who represent the targeted population indicated that their place of work largely enforced COVID-19 basic preventive measures during the pandemic. This study concludes that necessary efforts should be put in place to ease the affairs of the pharmaceutical practices before, during, and after the pandemic. Keywords: COVID-19, Impact, Lockdown, Pharmaceutical Care, Practices, Nigeria.

Non-prescriptionxx antibiotic use for people aged 15\xa0years or older for cough in China: a community-based survey

BackgroundNon-prescription antibiotic use at community is a main driver of antimicrobial resistance. Cough is a common condition and prevalent in all townships, including China. This study aims to investigate the non-prescription antibiotic use for cough in China and explore to which extent antibiotic use knowledge was correctly instructed in communities.MethodsA probability-proportionate-to-size sampling method was adopted to survey from all 14 townships in Yiwu city, China. All participants were investigated by face-to-face interview on Portable Android Devices. The continuous variables were presented by mean and standard deviation or medium and inter-quartile range (IQR). The categorical variables were presented using percentage or constituent ratio. Chi-square test for univariate analysis and logistic regression for multivariate analysis were conducted to assess the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals, respectively.ResultsA total of 3034 respondents across all the 14 townships and the 50 natural villages/streets completed all key items of the questionnaire. Of 2400 (79.10%) respondents stated that they experienced cough in the past 12 months with the medium age of 36.5 (IQR: 26–49) and 12.21% (293/2400) respondents had the non-prescription antibiotic use behavior. Among those 293 respondents, the proportion of non-prescription antibiotic use for cough peaked at around 16% among people aged 30–39 years old. The major sources of antibiotics were pharmacy (77.70%) and/or family storage (43.92%).ConclusionsNon-prescription antibiotics use for cough is prevalent in the community, especially among people in their thirties. Strengthened drug purchase regulation and well-trained professional pharmacists would be promising alternatives to ameliorate AMR. Moreover, penetrating antibiotics knowledge to common citizens and is an urgent task to alleviate antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, proactive policies and regulations should be made to improve current situations.

Breast Cancer Risk Among Female Health Professionals: A 35-Year Population-Based Longitudinal Cohort Study in Taiwan

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Previous studies have found a higher risk in nurses but no clear relationship among other health professionals. This study aims to investigate the risks of incident breast cancer among female health professionals compared with that among nonhealth professionals in Taiwan. This longitudinal observational cohort study included >35 years (1979-2016) of data from 4 nationwide population-based databases in Taiwan and identified matched cohorts with 1-to-2 propensity score matching between 277,543 health professionals and 555,086 nonhealth professionals. This study calculated total person-years for study subjects and compared breast cancer incidence between matched health and nonhealth professionals. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards and competing risk analyses were used, stratified by birth age, job tenure categories, and types of health professional license. Statistical analyses were conducted in 2019-2020. Health professionals had a significantly higher risk of breast cancer (hazard ratio=1.34, 95% CI=1.28-1.41; subdistribution hazard ratio=1.36, 95% CI=1.30, 1.42). Elevated risk of breast cancer incidence was associated with birth age, job tenure, and several health professional license types, including physician, pharmacist, registered nurse, midwife, medical technologist, and psychologist. Elevated breast cancer risk was found overall in female health professionals. Regular ultrasonography for younger women and mammography for those aged >45 years may be necessary in the annual labor physical examination for female health professionals.

How pharmacists perceive their professional identity: a scoping review and discursive analysis.

The objectives of this scoping review were to (a) explore how pharmacists perceive their professional roles and identities and (b) describe factors impacting which professional roles or identities pharmacists embody in different pharmacy practice settings. A scoping review using a deductive approach was undertaken for this study. Systematic searches were conducted in five databases: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid PsycINFO, EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health and Scopus (Elsevier). Key words searched included pharmacist, identity, professional role and one variations of these. Results were double-blind screened for relevance by two authors. Data extraction was facilitated by the web-based software platform COVIDENCE. Foucauldian critical discourse analysis was used to deconstruct how pharmacists perceive their professional roles and identities. In total, 21 701 articles were retrieved in the search. Following de-duplication and screening, 23 studies from 11 different countries were included. Five major identity themes were identified: Clinician, Dispenser, Business Person, Patient Counsellor and Physician Supporter. The dispenser identity was the most widespread, but it was viewed by many pharmacists as undesirable. The clinician identity also had a strong presence but was viewed as an identity that pharmacists aspire to embody. This scoping review illustrates that pharmacists do not uniformly perceive themselves to be clinicians. A significant gap exists between the profession's desired identity and that embodied by practicing pharmacists. The resulting dissonance may be a contributing factor to the lack of wide-scale practice change that the profession has been seeking for decades.

The implementation of pharmaceutical services in public hospitals in Mexico: an analysis of the legal framework and organizational practice

BackgroundThe implementation of pharmaceutical services in hospitals contributes to the appropriate use of medicines and patient safety. However, the relationship of implementation with the legal framework and organizational practice has not been studied in depth. The objective of this research is to determine the role of these two factors (the legal framework and organizational practice) in the implementation of pharmaceutical services in public hospitals of the Ministry of Health of Mexico.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with four groups of actors involved. The analysis focused on the legal framework, defined as the rules, laws and regulations, and on organizational practice, defined as the implementation of the legal framework by related individuals, that is, how they put it into practice.ResultsThe main problems identified were the lack of alignment between the rules and the incentives for compliance. Decision-makers identified the lack of managerial capacity in hospitals as the main implementation barrier, while hospital pharmacists pointed to poor regulation and the lack of clarity of the legal framework as the problems to consider.ConclusionsAlthough the legal framework related to hospital pharmaceutical services in Mexico is inadequate, organizational factors (such as adequate skills of professional pharmacists and the support of the hospital director) have facilitated gradual implementation. To improve implementation, priority should be given to evaluation and modification of the current legislation along with the development of an official minimum standard for activities and services in hospital pharmacies.

Meeting pharmacy educational outcomes through effective use of the virtual simulation MyDispense

IntroductionOne of the challenges of pharmacy schools worldwide is the need to link theoretical training with the mastery of practical skills. A virtual pharmacy simulation, MyDispense, developed by the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University, enables students to practice the skills of a professional pharmacist, from novice to highly advanced, in a safe virtual environment that is web-based and highly accessible. The free online simulation allows students to undertake scenarios where patients can present with prescription or self-care requirements, and are also challenged with validation tasks requiring them to check the work of virtual colleagues for accuracy, legality, and medicine safety. CommentaryThis commentary describes the use of a virtual simulation, MyDispense, in enhancing didactic instruction, complementing experiential education, and the challenges of the virtual simulation to pharmacy educators. MyDispense is now deployed to 186 schools of pharmacy across 34 countries to over 25,000 students worldwide who have completed over 963,000 exercises globally. ImplicationsThe severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (aka COVID-19) pandemic presents challenges to pharmacy education requiring many educators to switch to remote online learning. Simulation programs, such as MyDispense, help to replicate aspects of pharmacy practice and can be used creatively to meet course needs. The use of MyDispense is an excellent example of pharmacy educators collaborating globally and learning from each other to improve student learning.

Developing OSCE for Pharmacy Students in The Pandemic Era

The COVID -19 pandemic has affected many aspects of life, one of which is in the field of education. Transformation toward various e-learning process has been conducted in order to prevent transmission of the disease caused by massive gathering. Obstacles appear when trying to deliver and assess practical skills which are usually done face to face with the teachers or instructors. These obstacles are also seen in pharmacy schools where skills such as patient counselling, compounding and dispensing, etc. are important competencies for the students to achieve. In order to overcome these obstacles, we developed a method for conducting the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) through online process. This study was aimed to evaluate the new online OSCE method for pharmacy students to be conducted in the pandemic era.&#x0D; The evaluation of online OSCE trial was conducted using a simple Google form-based questionnaire which evaluated the platform used, the process of online OSCE and the instruction understandings. Respondents consisted of 52 examinees from the students of Pharmacist Profession Program UMY and 15 examiners from the lecturers or assistants who participated in the online OSCE trial held in June 2020. Data was analyzed descriptively to give a comprehensive picture on respondents’ perception towards the new method.&#x0D; The result showed that 78.8% examinees and 73.3% examiner agreed that the platform was easy to use, 65.4% examinees and 100% examiner agreed that the whole process of the exam was easy to understand, only 15.4% examinees and 26.7% examiner agreed that the time was sufficient, 73.1% examinees and 100% examiner agreed that the instructions of each station was clear. It can be concluded from the study that online OSCE method was feasible to be conducted during pandemic, particularly, for clinical pharmacy skills. Adjustment should be done to ensure that the time allocation for each station is adequate.

The influence of professional pharmacist services on pharmacy service quality of pharmacies in Kupang city, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia

Background: Changes in the orientation of pharmaceutical services from drug management to comprehensive patient care, demands optimization of the role of pharmacists in the Kupang City Pharmacy. This study aims to analyze the effect of professional pharmacist services on the quality of pharmacy services in the city of Kupang.Methods: The research design used was cross sectional. The population of this study were all patients who received services at private pharmacies in Kupang City. The population was divided into 2 clusters with 3-5 and 6-10 patients per day. The sample consisted of a sample of pharmacies and patients who brought prescriptions for each cluster. Retrieval of data by distributing questionnaires. Data analysis was performed by univariate, bivariate and mutivariate.Results: Univariate analysis showed a difference in the frequency of the variables for each cluster. Cluster visits 6-10 patients per day, the value of the variable was higher than the cluster visits 3-5 patients per day. Bivariate analysis showed that there was a relationship between the knowledge, attitudes, skills, presence and responsibility of pharmacists and the quality of pharmaceutical services, with a significance of each p=1.000; 0.133; 0.003; 0.003; 0.000. However, simultaneously it does not have a significant effect because it has sig&gt;0.05.Conclusions: There is an influence of pharmacist services in the aspects of knowledge, attitude, skills, presence and responsibility on the quality of pharmaceutical services at pharmacies in Kupang city, but it does not affect it simultaneously.

The Contribution of the Humanities and Social Sciences to Pharmacy Education: Literature Review and Perspectives.

Background: Healthcare systems worldwide adapt to patients’ needs and expectations, following social evolutions. Pharmaceutical practice has shifted towards activities such as therapeutic education. Such new missions require to prioritize human and social sciences, which now play a predominant role in training. Objective: This work consists of assessing the contribution of human and social sciences to the field of pharmacy, with a twofold focus on practice and training. Method: A literature review was carried out according to the PRISMA guidelines focusing on the last 10 years. Selected full texts were read and analyzed to elicit the contribution of human and social sciences to pharmacy. Results: Overall 36 articles were included. Three specific topics were identified during an inductive process of full text analysis: public health policy, patient care, and interprofessional collaboration. Conclusions: Although human and social sciences are essential to the evolution of the pharmacist profession, their impact on health care costs remains difficult to evaluate. Moreover, teaching human and social sciences can prove difficult to standardize. Such approaches must be supported and organized by governments and universities with a view of upscaling practices.

Pelatihan Apoteker Cilik dan DaGuSiBu bagi Siswa SDN Losari di Singosari, Kabupaten Malang

The purpose of this service activity is to introducing medicine from early age in order to introduce pharmacists and medicine to elementary school students. The lack of knowledge about medicines in the community begins with the provision of knowledge from an early age to elementary school students because they will later become adolescents and reduce drug abuse in the community as frequently happens to high school students or college students. The method of these activities is carried out by means of online learning using several platforms, including: class whatsapp group, google form, and youtube link. Before being given the material, a pretest and posttest was admitted at the beginning and end of the activity. There are two materials provided, first, introducing Pharmacist Profession and education for DaGuSiBu. The participants of this activity were elementary students of grade 4,5 and 6 SDN Losari. In addition, this service is expected to motivate students to have awareness and be able to supervise other classmates for practicing medicines properly.The results was found that the students received education related to the Pharmacist Profession and understood about DaGuSiBu (properly get, use, save, and throw away the medicines) with the results of the average pretest and posttest scores about Pharmacist of 7.08 and 7.23 respectively, meanwhile DaGuSiBu education was 6.20 for pretest and postest 7.18. So it can be concluded that there was increasing points in knowledge after being given education.

Thực trạng nhân lực và một số yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến thu hút và duy trì nhân lực tại Bệnh viện đa khoa huyện Cư Kuin giai đoạn 2016 - 2018

This study was employed with two objectives: 1/To describe the current situation of health workers and 2/To explore the factors influencing attraction and retention of health workers in Cu Kuin district hospital in period 2016 - 2018. A mixed - methods approach was applied, with a combination of using secondary data and qualitative research. The secondary data was collected from the hospital statistics and reports during the period of 2016 - 2018. The qualitative research was organized in-depth interviews with the directors, official managers and health staffs in the hospital. The main findings showed that during the time of 2016 - 2018, the quantative of health workers in Cu Kuin hospital decresed gradually and was slightly lacking when compared to Circular 08. The recruitment was still insufficient compared to the recruitment plan. There was still lacking of professional healthcare staffs, especially doctors and pharmacists. The allocation of healthcare staffs by clinical, admistrative sectors was not balanced in hospital. The number of training and re-training among health workers accounted for 48.9%. The attraction and retention for healthcare staffs in hospital did not work effectively. Therefore, to develop the human resources for hospital meed the needs and demands of the hospital activities, the leaders of the hospital should develop the human resource stratergy in accordance with the actual situation; Conduct training and re-training for health staffs regularly. For the department of health, it is necessary to supplement healthcare workers in accordance with Circular 08 and support training for healthcare workers to enhance the knowledge and update information. Keywords. Human resource for health, attraction and retention, factors influencing, healthcare staff, health workers.

LEGAL PROTECTION OF PHARMACY TAKES A PHARMACY CARE IN THE EVENT OF EMERGENCY

The legal protection of pharmacists is very important, because if there is no legal protection in carrying out pharmaceutical practices by a pharmacist it will become an obstacle in the running of pharmaceutical services to the public, especially with the new concept of pharmacy services at home (home pharmacy care). The instrument has not been regulated in the law so that the pharmacist profession is vulnerable to criminalization. The problem in this paper is (a) how is the legal protection of pharmacists in conducting home pharmacy care in the emergency services outside in their authority? How do you prevent the criminalization of pharmacists in conducting home pharmacy care? This study uses an empirical juridical and normative juridical approach. The results showed that the legal protection of pharmacists in carrying out home pharmacy care services in the emergency can carry out services outside their authority. The Indonesian Pharmacist Association (IAI) is obliged to provide protection to members as long as they carry out their duties in accordance with professional standards, professional service standards and operational procedure standards, and prevent the criminalization of pharmacists in practicing Home Pharmacy Care services. Suggestions by the authors in this study is expected the government to immediately issue a new law related to the validity of pharmacist activities in conducting home pharmacy care so that the existence of the law will guarantee legal certainty.

Medication reconciliation in orthopedic and neurological patients in a public hospital

Objective: To evaluate the discrepancies found by the clinical pharmacy service during medication reconciliations in patients hospitalized for orthopedics and neurology in a university hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective study was carried out from January to June 2018 with the patients followed-up by the clinical pharmacy service (orthopedics and neurology). Data was collected through medical charts and pharmacotherapeutic follow-up forms. The differences between the list of medications that the patient was using at home and the prescription from the hospital was classified as a discrepancy (justified or unjustified). Medical acceptance of the pharmaceutical interventions was assessed. The medications involved in the discrepancies were classified according to the ATC classification in its 1st level. Descriptive statistics was performed using the Excel program and Pearson’s chi-square test. Results: Of the 939 medications used by the patients, 673 (71.7%) presented discrepancies and in 371 (55.1%), unjustified discrepancies were found. Of the 507 patients included in the study, 154 (30.4%) presented at least one medication error. In 96.8% of the cases, the pharmaceutical interventions were performed, and acceptability was 30.6%, avoiding 110 errors. Medication omission was the most common type of discrepancy and the medical group most frequently involved was the cardiovascular system. Conclusions: Medication errors in admission to the orthopedics and neurology sectors are frequent, but they can be identified and solved through medication reconciliation, with professional clinical pharmacists able to perform it, collaborating for the safety of the patients.