Evaluation of the Impact of the Presence of a Pharmacy Technician on the Quality and Cost of Drug Therapy

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes129 enrolled

Overview

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the presence of a pharmacy technician in a care unit (Hepato-Gastroenterology Department) on detected medication errors. This is a before-after study consisting of three sequential phases: Month 1: one month of observation of what is happening in the department Month 2: one month wash out period Month 3: active participation of a pharmacy technician in the department

The secondary objectives of this study are: A- To assess the impact of the presence of a pharmacy technician on the ratio of the number of patients with at least one medication error / number of included patients hospitalized in the service. B- To characterize detected medication errors. C- To identify and evaluate the potential causes of medication errors. D- To evaluate whether the presence of a pharmacy technician reduces nursing time spent on medication management. E- To evaluate the economic impact of the presence of a pharmacy technician. F- To evaluate the acceptability of the intervention by the nursing staff and pharmacy technicians using questionnaires.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

129

Conditions

Hospitalization

Interventions

One month of department-wide observationOTHER

A pharmacy technician will be present full time in the care unit from Monday to Friday between 8:30 and 17h for 1 month for observational purposes only. During this phase, the pharmacy technician observes the current practices of preparation and administration of medication by nurses. He / she will collect medication errors and other observational data.

Pharm Tech participates in departmentOTHER

Following a 1 month wash-out period, a pharmacy technician will again be present full time (in practice, two technicians will relay each other) in the care unit from Monday to Friday between 8:30 and 17h for 1 month. He/she will actively take part in drug care activities in the department: management of product pathways, verification of injectable preparation, advice, etc. Medication errors and other observational data will be collected.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * The patient must be insured or beneficiary of a health insurance plan * The patient is hospitalized in the Hepato-Gastroenterology Department of the Nîmes University Hospital Exclusion Criteria: * The patient is under judicial protection * The patient, or his/her legal guardian, expresses opposition to participation in the study * It is impossible to correctly inform the patient

Locations (1)

CHRU de Nîmes - Hôpital Universitaire Carémeau

Nîmes, France

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

The following ratio (relative units): Number of medication errors / number of medications administered and omitted from among all those listed on the prescription for admission

Primary Outcome Measure as given in protocol: Number of medication errors / number of medications administered and omitted from among all those listed on the prescription for admission (during month 1 versus during month 3).

Time frame: 5 days

Secondary Outcomes

Number of patients with at least one medication error / total number of hospitalized patients included in the service

Time frame: 5 days

For each medication error: the name of the drug

Time frame: 5 days

For each medication error: the type of error

Errors are classifies as one of the following types: Omission; Drug; Dosage form; Expired or damaged drug; Dose; Concentration; Frequency of administration; Administration technique; Route of Administration; Rate of administration; Duration of administration; Administration Time; Patient; Drug interaction.

Time frame: 5 days

For each medication error: the severity index

Time frame: 5 days

For each medication error: when (which step) the error occurred during the drug pathway

The considered steps are: Writing the prescription Medical decision for the prescription Transcription Pharmaceutical analysis Deliverance Preparation / reconstitution Pillbox Administration Procurement Storage Compliance Therapeutic and clinical follow-up

Time frame: 5 days

For each medication error: the evolution of the adverse drug event, if occurred

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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