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Analysis of clinical intervention records by pharmacists in an Australian principal referral and specialist women's and newborns' hospital
Author(s) -
Teoh Stephanie W. K.,
Hattingh Laetitia,
Lebedevs Tamara,
Parsons Richard
Publication year - 2017
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/jppr.1241
Subject(s) - medicine , psychological intervention , specialty , referral , obstetrics and gynaecology , neonatology , observational study , family medicine , emergency medicine , intervention (counseling) , pediatrics , pregnancy , nursing , biology , genetics
Aim The objectives of this study were to evaluate clinical interventions recorded by pharmacists in an Australian principal referral and specialist women's and newborns' hospital, as well as to identify common medications involved in each specialty area (neonatology, obstetrics and gynaecology), to assess the risks of medication‐related problems ( MRP s) likely to have been prevented, and to obtain institution‐specific MRP s for future staff education. Methods This retrospective, observational study involved an analysis of all interventions documented by pharmacists from January 2005 to December 2014. The interventions recorded were collated according to ward, medication involved, description of the intervention and the risk classification. Results There were a total of 14 085 interventions documented over 10 years; 60.33% made in obstetric patients, 28.71% in gynaecology patients and 10.96% in neonates. The three main intervention types were: (i) dose/frequency/time incorrect (25.70%, n = 3260); (ii) prescribing clarification (21.77%, n = 3066); and (iii) medicine omission (15.21%, n = 2143). An average of 12.02% of the interventions were regarded as high‐risk and 0.85% as extreme‐risk. Of the MRP s documented within each specialty, the prevalence of extreme risk interventions was higher in the neonatal ward. Discussion The most common intervention was identifying incorrect medication dose/frequency/time. Common medications involved in the MRP s included: opioids and antihypertensives in gynaecology; parenteral nutrition and gentamicin in neonatology; and opioids and non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs ( NSAID s) in obstetrics. The medications involved in high and extreme risk MRP s included gentamicin, opioids and NSAID s. Conclusion This study demonstrates that hospital pharmacists contribute to the reduction of MRP s, including some potentially fatal adverse medicine events. These findings also enable targeted, site‐specific education, which is valuable in improving patient safety.