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Safe Prescribing and Preparation of Continuous Subcutaneous Infusions in a Regional Palliative Care Unit
Author(s) -
Murnane Julie M,
Passlow Claire A,
Arnold Mark,
McCormick Christopher P
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/j.2055-2335.2013.tb00231.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pharmacy , nursing , confusion , unit (ring theory) , nursing staff , audit , palliative care , family medicine , medical emergency , psychology , mathematics education , mathematics , management , psychoanalysis , economics
Aim To design a safe process for prescribing and preparing medications for continuous subcutaneous infusion (CSCI) in a regional palliative care unit. Method Following a literature review and finding little evidence of best prescribing practice for CSCI, a working party comprising medical, nursing and pharmacy staff was established to review existing practice. Dedicated CSCI medication chart labels (MCLs) were designed to be applied to the inpatient medication chart to improve safety and clarity. These labels were trialled for 3 months. Staff surveys were conducted before and after the trial to gauge their experiences with changed practice. Results Surveys were completed by 27 staff before and 25 staff after the trial. Staff reported the MCLs decreased confusion, decreased the potential for error when prescribing and preparing medications, and decreased wastage of time, medication and consumables. 22 of 25 staff were moderately or highly satisfied with the new CSCI MCL. Conclusion The introduction of MCLs to optimise prescribing and preparation of CSCI was successfully implemented and accepted by medical, pharmacy and nursing staff.