Healthy Skepticism Library item: 10486

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Publication type: Journal Article

Ou YJ.
A survey of pharmacists' recommendation in a unit dose drug distribution system
Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal 2002; 54:(6):449-455

Abstract:

This study was conducted for the purpose of evaluation of various pharmacists’ recommendation in a unit dose drug distribution system at the university hospital. The specific goal is to understand various categories of interventions by pharmacists on physician inpatients’ orders. The pharmacists’ activities on the inpatients’ drug profiles were examined and evaluated retrospectively. Data concerning more than two thousand recommendation from July 1 to December 31 of 2001 at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH) were collected and analyzed. The interventions was categorized into 13 drug-related-problems. The results showed (1) entry error, (2) the patient has a medical condition resulting from inappropriate drug combinations, (3) miscellaneous, (4) the patient has a medical condition resulting from failure to discontinue the original orders, (5) the patient has a medical condition resulting from inappropriate dosages were the top five recommendations. When the drug categories were concerned, the classes of the drug recommendations were (1) antimicrobial drugs, (2) digestive system drugs, (3) central nervous system drugs, (4) cardiovascular system drugs and (5) respiratory system drugs. The drugs that pharmacists used to provide recommendations were 1. GentamicinR (gentamicin), 2. SuwellR (aluminum hydroxide + magnesium hydroxide + simthicone) (3) CefamezinR (cefazolin), (4) Magnesium oxideR (magnesium oxide), and (5) PiprilR (piperacillin). The personnel contacted mostly by pharmacists were physicians. The percentage of the recommendations accepted by them (physicians, nurses, assistants) was 92.8%. The results of this study show that pharmacists provide a service that goes far beyond the simple distribution of medication. Providing the proper drug information to the appropriate persons, as a part of hospital pharmacy services that takes into account safety, efficiency, rationality and economics, is essential to maintaining the quality of drug therapy in hospital.