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Purpose: The Joint Commission standards for titrated infusions require specification of maximum rates of infusion. This practice has led to the development of protocolized maximum doses that can be overridden by provider order ("soft maximums") and to dose caps that cannot be superseded ("hard maximums"). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of and attitudes towards dose capping of norepinephrine. Methods: A 20-item cross-sectional survey assessing norepinephrine dose capping practices, perceptions of norepinephrine protocols, and respondent and practice site demographics was distributed electronically to the mailing list of an international medical podcast. Responses were stratified according to use of weight-based dosing (WBD) or non-WBD of norepinephrine. The primary objective was to characterize norepinephrine dosing practices including protocolized maximum doses and/or dose capping. Categorical and continuous variables were compared using the Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test, respectively, with P <.05 indicating statistical significance. Results: The survey was completed by 586 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and advanced practice providers. WBD was used by 51% and non-WBD by 47%. A standardized titration protocol was reported by 65% and dose capping was reported by 19%. The protocolized maximum dose ranged from 20-400 mcg/min for respondents using non-WBD (median [interquartile range] 30 [30-50]) and ranged from.2-10 mcg/kg/min for respondents using WBD (1 [.5-3]). The dose cap was 50 (40-123) mcg/min with non-WBD and 2 (1-3) mcg/kg/min with WBD. Conclusions: An international, multi-professional survey of critical care and emergency medicine clinicians revealed wide variability in norepinephrine dosing practices including maximum doses allowed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Considering the great impact suffered by women with metastatic breast cancer, manifested in physical and/or psychological symptoms, this study seeks to understand the impact of total pain on these patients and to emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary intervention in this context, as well as to list treatment alternatives for better pain management and consequent improvement in quality of life. CONTENTS: A narrative literature review was carried out in Scielo, Pubmed and Google Scholar databases, based on the descriptors “Pain”, “Breast Neoplasms”, “Palliative Care”, “Interdisciplinary Placements”, “Medication Systems” and “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy”, as well as their respective terms in Portuguese, in articles published from 2012 to 2022. 130 publications were found, of which, after applying the criteria, 34 were included in this review. The results obtained point to the impact of total pain on cancer patients, which has repercussions in terms of poorly controlled symptoms of fatigue, dyspnea, poor diet, poor sleep quality, anxiety, and possible depressive episodes. In this context, interdisciplinary and palliative care emerge as central to the treatment of these patients, since they are based on communication, joint decision-making and comprehensiveness. In addition, different techniques were observed, both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, which can help relieve pain and other symptoms, improving quality of life. CONCLUSION: However, there are still limitations to the inclusion of interdisciplinary teams in clinical practice, due to communication failures, individual conduct and hierarchization, as well as other aspects.

Abstract Background Medication lists prepared in the emergency department (ED) form the basis for diagnosing and treating patients during hospitalization. Since incomplete medication information may lead to patient harm, it is crucial to obtain a correct and complete medication list at hospital admission. In this cross-sectional retrospective study we wanted to explore medication information completeness in admission notes from Norwegian EDs and investigate which factors were associated with level of completeness. Methods Medication information was assessed for completeness by applying five evaluation criteria; generic name, formulation, dose, frequency, and indication for use. A medication completeness score in percent was calculated per medication, per admission note and per criterion. Quantile regression analysis was applied to investigate which variables were associated with medication information completeness. Results Admission notes for patients admitted between October 2018 and September 2019 and using at least one medication were included. A total of 1,080 admission notes, containing 8,604 medication orders, were assessed. The individual medications had a mean medication completeness score of 88.1% (SD 16.4), while admission notes had a mean medication completeness score of 86.3% (SD 16.2). Over 90% of all individual medications had information about generic name, formulation, dose and frequency stated, while indication for use was only present in 60%. The use of an electronic tool to prepare medication information had a significantly strong positive association with completeness. Hospital visit within the last 30 days, the patient’s living situation, number of medications in use, and which hospital the patient was admitted to, were also associated with information completeness. Conclusions Medication information completeness in admission notes was high, but potential for improvement regarding documentation of indication for use was identified. Applying an electronic tool when preparing admission notes in EDs seems crucial to safeguard completeness of medication information.

Background: Medication lists prepared in the emergency department (ED) form the basis for diagnosing and treating patients during hospitalization. Since incomplete medication information may lead to patient harm, it is crucial to obtain a correct and complete medication list at hospital admission. In this cross-sectional retrospective study we wanted to explore medication information completeness in admission notes from Norwegian EDs and investigate which factors were associated with level of completeness. Methods: Medication information was assessed for completeness by applying five evaluation criteria; generic name, formulation, dose, frequency, and indication for use. A medication completeness score in percent was calculated per medication, per admission note and per criterion. Quantile regression analysis was applied to investigate which variables were associated with medication information completeness. Results: Admission notes for patients admitted between October 2018 and September 2019 and using at least one medication were included. A total of 1,080 admission notes, containing 8,604 medication orders, were assessed. The individual medications had a mean medication completeness score of 88.1% (SD 16.4), while admission notes had a mean medication completeness score of 86.3% (SD 16.2). Over 90% of all individual medications had information about generic name, formulation, dose and frequency stated, while indication for use was only present in 60%. The use of an electronic tool to prepare medication information had a significantly strong positive association with completeness. Hospital visit within the last 30 days, the patient's living situation, number of medications in use, and which hospital the patient was admitted to, were also associated with information completeness. Conclusions: Medication information completeness in admission notes was high, but potential for improvement regarding documentation of indication for use was identified. Applying an electronic tool when preparing admission notes in EDs seems crucial to safeguard completeness of medication information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the quality of effective discharge communication to primary practice from a hospital that uses ieMR (integrated electronic Medical Record), a complete electronic prescribing/medical record platform. Methods: A retrospective quantitative analysis of 232 discharge encounters from a major tertiary hospital assessed the discharge summary quality; timeliness, completeness and medication information. Results: Median time to discharge summary was 1 day. 22.0% of discharge summaries were incomplete at 30 days post discharge and 44.5% of discharge summaries were incomplete at 30 days post discharge if discharged on a weekend compared to weekday (P -value = 0.001). Rates of medication reconciliation were completed at approximately 35% at each point of the patient stay and 56.9% of patients had a GP discharge summary listing discharge medications. However, if certain progressive steps were completed (i.e. Home Medications recorded in ieMR, Discharge Reconciliation in ieMR, and Patient Discharge Medication Record in eLMs (Enterprise-wide Liaison Medication System)), then, the 'Medications on Discharge' was significantly more likely to be present in the discharge summary, at rates of 70.1%, 85.9%, and 98.6% respectively (P -value = 0.007, <0.001, <0.001). Conversely not doing these steps dropped rates of having medications listed in the discharge summary to 50.0%, 40.3% and 34.1% respectively. Conclusions: This study assessed current discharge summary quality since the introduction of electronic medical records. It demonstrated the significant value of correct use of electronic programs, including performing all crucial steps of reconciliation. Targeted interventions in future studies that rectify the shortfalls in discharge communication are warranted. Significant digital advances to hospital communication practices have occurred over the last 15 years, including technology-based methods to generate discharge summaries. An audit of discharge communication from a major tertiary hospital utilising a complete electronic prescribing/records platform showed there are large deficits in the quality and timing of information going to primary care after discharge. Incorrect use of electronic platforms can have major negative effects on the quality of discharge communication. Workflow processes must put a higher regard to correctly working in-line with the way these programs are designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Recommendations for apixaban dosing on the basis of kidney function are inconsistent between the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for patients with atrial fibrillation. Optimal apixaban dosing in chronic kidney disease remains unknown. METHODS: With the use of deidentified electronic health record data from the Optum Labs Data Warehouse, patients with atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease stage 4/5 initiating apixaban between 2013 and 2021 were identified. Risks of bleeding and stroke/systemic embolism were compared by apixaban dose (5 versus 2.5 mg), adjusted for baseline characteristics by the inverse probability of treatment weighting. The Fine-Gray subdistribution hazard model was used to account for the competing risk of death. Cox regression was used to examine risk of death by apixaban dose. RESULTS: Among 4313 apixaban new users, 1705 (40%) received 5 mg and 2608 (60%) received 2.5 mg. Patients treated with 5 mg apixaban were younger (mean age, 72 versus 80 years), with greater weight (95 versus 80 kg) and higher serum creatinine (2.7 versus 2.5 mg/dL). Mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was not different between the groups (24 versus 24 mL⋅min-1⋅1.73 m-2). In inverse probability of treatment weighting analysis, apixaban 5 mg was associated with a higher risk of bleeding (incidence rate 4.9 versus 2.9 events per 100 person-years; incidence rate difference, 2.0 [95% CI, 0.6-3.4] events per 100 person-years; subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.04-2.54]). There was no difference between apixaban 5 mg and 2.5 mg groups in the risk of stroke/systemic embolism (3.3 versus 3.0 events per 100 person-years; incidence rate difference, 0.2 [95% CI, -1.0 to 1.4] events per 100 person-years; subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.59-1.73]), or death (9.9 versus 9.4 events per 100 person-years; incidence rate difference, 0.5 [95% CI, -1.6 to 2.6] events per 100 person-years; hazard ratio, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.77-1.38]). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with 2.5 mg, use of 5 mg apixaban was associated with a higher risk of bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation and severe chronic kidney disease, with no difference in the risk of stroke/systemic embolism or death, supporting the apixaban dosing recommendations on the basis of kidney function by the European Medicines Agency, which differ from those issued by the US Food and Drug Administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transitions of patient care between hospital discharge and primary care are known to be an area of high-risk where communication is imperative for patient safety. Discharge summaries are known to often be incomplete, delayed and unhelpful for community healthcare providers. The aim of this review was to identify and map the literature which discusses Australian general practitioners' (GPs) views on the qualities that make up effective discharge communication. Medline, Scopus and the Cochrane register of controlled drug trails and systematic reviews were searched for publications until October 2021 that discussed Australian GPs' views on discharge communication from hospital to general practice. Of 1696 articles identified, 18 met inclusion and critical appraisal criteria. Five studies identified that GPs view timeliness of discharge summary receipt to be a problem. Communication of medication information in the discharge summary was discussed in six studies, with two reporting that GPs view reasons for medication changes to be essential. Five studies noted GPs would prefer to receive clinical discipline or diagnosis specific information. Four studies identified that GPs viewed the format and readability of discharge summaries to be problematic, with difficulties finding salient information. The findings of this scoping review indicate that GPs view timeliness, completeness, readability, medication related information and diagnosis/clinical discipline specific information to be qualities that make up effective discharge communication from hospital to the community. There are opportunities for further research in perspectives of effective discharge communication, and future studies on interventions to improve discharge communication, patient safety and policy in transfers of care. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and map the literature which discusses specifically Australian general practitioners' (GPs) views on the qualities that make up effective discharge communication from hospital care back to primary care. The findings indicate that GPs view timeliness , completeness , readability , medication related information and diagnosis/clinical discipline specific information to be qualities that make up effective discharge communication from hospital to the community. There are opportunities for further research into perspectives of effective discharge communication, and future studies on interventions to improve discharge communication, patient safety and policy in transfers of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this project was to develop and optimize a dashboard and registry to manage the distribution, utilization, and monitoring of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency use–authorized medications (CEUAMs). Summary CEUAMs have specific requirements that must be met for prescribing, monitoring, and compliance. When remdesivir, the first COVID-19 medication with emergency use authorization (EUA), was approved, it immediately became necessary for the Veterans Health Administration, a national integrated health system, to describe the requirements for EUA, to distribute the medication in a fair and equitable manner, and to ensure compliance with all EUA requirements. A dashboard was developed and iteratively updated as additional CEUAMs were approved. The dashboard tracked CEUAM distribution and monitoring at the national, regional, facility, and patient level. Par stock levels were initially determined at the national level. Facilities were also able to request an additional allotment of medication based on demand and allocated supplies from the Department of Health and Human Services. Providers completed a questionnaire for the CEUAM for each patient to ensure all requirements for the medication were met. If there were data integrity concerns, the entry was flagged for review at the facility level and, upon evaluation, corrections were made. Conclusion Development of the dashboard was resource intensive but provided an excellent mechanism to share information among facilities and national offices. Other healthcare systems can develop similar dashboards to ensure appropriate use of CEUAMs for their patients while meeting all CEUAM requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of drug dispensing in hospital pharmacies (HPs) is one of the essential steps in health care, but presents high complexity due to the diversity of professionals and clinical conditions of patients. Therefore, the use of quality management tools may be an important strategy to improve patient safety and to achieve institutional goals, including user satisfaction and reduction of costs. This scoping review sought to describe quality management tools applied to drug dispensing in HPs; quality indicators used and results obtained. This scoping review was developed according to the Cochrane methodology and reported according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA), being registered at Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/KP3AJ). The searches were performed in electronic databases Medline, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL and Lilacs, with no limit of date or language. Studies on quality management tools applied to drug dispensing in HPs were assessed for eligibility, extracted and compiled in a narrative form. From the 1318 studies identified, 11 were eligible for this review. The quality management tools more frequently reported were those related to the definition of root cause (n = 4; 36%), e.g. DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) and the cause and effect diagram; tools for risk management, such as FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) and its variations (n = 4; 36%); and tools related to the LSS (LEAN Six Sigma) principles (n = 3; 27%). The quality indicators used to monitor the results were, mainly, work team satisfaction, time spent performing activities and reduction of errors and costs. The use of quality management tools showed a tendency to improve the indicators of the drug dispensing process in HPs, such as increase in work team satisfaction, reduction of time spent performing activities, errors and costs, improving the quality of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The dose of anaesthetic and opioid drugs must be continuously adjusted after the induction of general anaesthesia to maintain an adequate depth of anaesthesia. The TI.VA algorithm is a multiple-input/multiple-output algorithm designed to optimise the balance between anaesthetic and opioid concentrations during general anaesthesia. It applies vector analysis to a two-dimensional matrix to quantify any inadequacy of the depth of anaesthesia at any given moment and determine any drug dose adjustments required to achieve an adequate depth of anaesthesia. This study aimed to capture preliminary data on the performance and safety of the TI.VA algorithm during total i.v. anaesthesia in patients. Methods: This prospective study enrolled nine patients with breast cancer scheduled to undergo surgery. General anaesthesia was induced under manual control using propofol and remifentanil. Anaesthesia was guided using the TI.VA algorithm from skin incision until surgical resection was completed. The quality of anaesthesia was assessed through an analysis of performance errors. A bispectral index global score (GSBIS)

Introduction: The concepts of risk and vulnerability have been discussed in the healthcare field and represent different approaches in the process of care, with an important amount of interventions that included drug prescriptions and treatments. Objectives: To analyze the healthcare professionals’ perceptions of the concepts of risk and vulnerability and their influence on Medication Use Process. Methods: Data were collected in an academic tertiary hospital, from a focus group conducted with healthcare professionals who are active in diverse settings of care. The meeting was recorded, audio statements were transcribed and coded, and the content was organized and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Three physicians, 2 nurses and 2 pharmacists participated in the study. The findings suggest that there is a continuum between both concepts, with vulnerability preceding risk: each individual has its own range of vulnerability prior to the drug administration, being risk inherent to the drug utilization process. Conclusions: According to the research subjects, reducing vulnerability can potentially prevent additional drug therapy problems development: the patient has to be the focus of the medication use process, not only the drug and its risk.

Access to therapeutic oxygen remains a challenge in the effort to reduce pneumonia mortality among children in low- and middle-income countries. The use of oxygen concentrators is common, but their effectiveness in delivering uninterrupted oxygen is gated by reliability of the power grid. Often cylinders are employed to provide continuous coverage, but these can present other logistical challenges. In this study, we examined the use of a novel, low-pressure oxygen storage system to capture excess oxygen from a concentrator to be delivered to patients during an outage. A prototype was built and tested in a non-clinical trial in Jinja, Uganda. The trial was carried out at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital over a 75-day period. The flow rate of the unit was adjusted once per week between 0.5 and 5 liters per minute. Over the trial period, 1284 power failure episodes with a mean duration of 3.1 minutes (range 0.08 to 1720 minutes) were recorded. The low-pressure system was able to deliver oxygen over 56% of the 4,295 power outage minutes and cover over 99% of power outage events over the course of the study. These results demonstrate the technical feasibility of a method to extend oxygen availability and provide a basis for clinical trials.

Jeongok Park,1 Sang Bin You,2 Hyejin Kim,3 Cheolmin Park,4 Gi Wook Ryu,5 Seongae Kwon,2 Youngkyung Kim,6 Sejeong Lee,6 Kayoung Lee7 1Mo-Im Kim Nursing Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea; 2Yonsei University College of Nursing, Seoul, South Korea; 3Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System, Seoul, South Korea; 4Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea; 5Department of Nursing, Hansei University, Gunpo-si, South Korea; 6College of Nursing and Brain Korea 21 FOUR Project, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea; 7Gachon University College of Nursing, Incheon, South KoreaCorrespondence: Kayoung Lee, Gachon University College of Nursing, 191 Hambakmoero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, 21936, South Korea, Tel +82-32-820-4227, Email kayolee@gachon.ac.krPurpose: Medication administration is a complex process and constitutes a substantial component of nursing practice that is closely linked to patient safety. Although intravenous fluid administration is one of the most frequently performed nursing tasks, nurses’ experiences with intravenous rate control have not been adequately studied. This study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences with infusion nursing practice to identify insights that could be used in interventions to promote safe medication administration.Patients and methods: This qualitative descriptive study used focus group interviews of 20 registered nurses who frequently administered medications in tertiary hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected through five semi-structured focus group interviews, with four nurses participating in each interview. We conducted inductive and deductive content analysis based on the 11 key topics of patient safety identified by the World Health Organization. Reporting followed the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist.Results: Participants administered infusions in emergency rooms, general wards, and intensive care units, including patients ranging from children to older adults. Two central themes were revealed: human factors and systems. Human factors consisted of two sub-themes including individuals and team players, while systems encompassed three sub-themes including institutional policy, culture, and equipment.Conclusion: This study found that nurses experienced high levels of stress when administering infusions in the correct dose and rate for patient safety. Administering and monitoring infusions were complicated because nursing processes interplay with human and system factors. Future research is needed to develop nursing interventions that include human and system factors to promote patient safety by reducing infusion-related errors.Keywords: intravenous infusions, medication errors, medication systems, nurses, patient safety

Aims and objectives: To identify the prevalence and determinants of medication administration errors (MAEs). Background: Insight into determinants of MAEs is necessary to identify interventions to prevent MAEs. Design: A prospective observational study in two Dutch hospitals, a university and teaching hospital. Methods: Data were collected by observation. The primary outcome was the proportion of administrations with one or more MAEs. Secondary outcomes were the type, severity and determinants of MAEs. Multivariable mixed‐effects logistic regression analyses were used for determinant analysis. Reporting adheres to the STROBE guideline. Results: MAEs occurred in 352 of 2576 medication administrations (13.7%). Of all MAEs (n = 380), the most prevalent types were omission (n = 87) and wrong medication handling (n = 75). Forty‐five MAEs (11.8%) were potentially harmful. The pharmaceutical forms oral liquid (odds ratio [OR] 3.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43–7.25), infusion (OR 1.73, CI 1.02–2.94), injection (OR 3.52, CI 2.00–6.21), ointment (OR 10.78, CI 2.10–55.26), suppository/enema (OR 6.39, CI 1.13–36.03) and miscellaneous (OR 6.17, CI 1.90–20.04) were more prone to MAEs compared to oral solid. MAEs were more likely to occur when medication was administered between 10 a.m.–2 p.m. (OR 1.91, CI 1.06–3.46) and 6 p.m.–7 a.m. (OR 1.88, CI 1.00–3.52) compared to 7 a.m.–10 a.m. and when administered by staff with higher professional education compared to staff with secondary vocational education (OR 1.68, CI 1.03–2.74). MAEs were less likely to occur in the teaching hospital (OR 0.17, CI 0.08–0.33). Day of the week, patient‐to‐nurse ratio, interruptions and other nurse characteristics (degree, experience, employment type) were not associated with MAEs. Conclusions: This study identified a high MAE prevalence. Identified determinants suggest that focusing interventions on complex pharmaceutical forms and error‐prone administration times may contribute to MAE reduction. Relevance to clinical practice: The findings of this study can be used to develop targeted interventions to improve patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to describe the implementation and to assess the effectiveness of a pilot integrated qualification program to improve the medication use in a long-term care facility (LTCF). Methods: This was a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study. A pilot integrated qualification program to improve the medication use in a LTCF was carried out by implementing a new drug distribution system and a comprehensive medication management (CMM) service according to the following four steps: I) implementation of the drug distribution system followed by the evaluation of the health team’s opinion; II) prescription review with the identification of potential drug therapy problems (PDTPs); III) provision of the CMM service according to the framework of Pharmaceutical Care practice within one year; and, IV) evaluation of the effectiveness of the program through the comparison of clinical and laboratory parameters (blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin and lipid fractions) using the t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: In step I, the distribution system was fully outsourced to a company that furnished all solid oral dosage forms in individual boxes containing a plastic coil with multiple envelopes for 30 days. In step II, 180 PDTPs were identified, and all patients presented with at least one of them. In step III, after the first assessment of the CMM Service, 43 actual drug therapy problems (DTPs) were identified. After one year of service provision, 96 DTPs were identified and 75.8% of them were resolved (n=72). In step IV, a statistically significant difference was observed between the initial and final minimum and maximum systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p

Abstract Background Primary care services in South Africa have been challenged by increasing numbers of people with communicable and non-communicable chronic diseases. There was a need to develop alternative approaches for stable patients to access medication. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic there was an urgent need to decongest facilities and protect people from infection. In this crisis the Metro Health Services rapidly implemented home delivery of medication by community health workers. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of home delivery of medication by community health workers during the coronavirus pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods A convergent mixed methods study evaluated six implementation outcomes: adoption, feasibility, fidelity, coverage, cost, and sustainability of the initiative. Data sources included routinely collected data, a telephonic survey of 138 patients, an analysis of set-up and recurrent costs as well as 17 descriptive exploratory qualitative semi-structured interviews with 68 key informants. Results Over a 6-month period 1,054,657 pre-packaged parcels were sent to primary care facilities, 819,649 (77.7%) were delivered and of those 97,297 (11.9%) returned. The additional costs were estimated as 1.3% of a total health budget of R2,2 billion. The initiative was rapidly adopted as it decongested facilities and protected vulnerable patients. Although it was feasible to implement at scale, numerous challenges were encountered, such as incorrect addresses and contact details, transporting parcels, communicating with patients, having a reliable audit trail, and handling out-of-area patients. All role players thought the service should continue and 42.3% of patients reported better adherence to their medication. Conclusion Home delivery of medication by community health workers is feasible at scale and affordable. It should continue, but as one of a menu of options for alternative delivery of medication. The following need to be improved: efficiency of the system, the audit trail, adequate support and resources for community health workers, transport of medication, communication with patients, empanelment of patients, governance of the system and training of the community health workers.

Background: General practitioners are well positioned to contribute to the pharmacovigilance of medical cannabis via the general practice electronic medical record (EMR). The aim of this research is to interrogate de-identified patient data from the Patron primary care data repository for reports of medicinal cannabis to ascertain the feasibility of using EMRs to monitor medicinal cannabis prescribing in Australia. Methods: EMR rule-based digital phenotyping of 1 164 846 active patients from 109 practices was undertaken to investigate reports of medicinal cannabis use from September 2017 to September 2020. Results: Eighty patients with 170 prescriptions of medicinal cannabis were identified in the Patron repository. Reasons for prescription included anxiety, multiple sclerosis, cancer, nausea, and Crohn's disease. Nine patients showed symptoms of a possible adverse event, including depression, motor vehicle accident, gastrointestinal symptoms, and anxiety. Conclusions: The recording of medicinal cannabis effects in the patient EMR provides potential for medicinal cannabis monitoring in the community. This is especially feasible if monitoring were to be embedded into general practitioner workflow. General practitioners are well positioned to contribute to the pharmacovigilance of medical cannabis via the general practice electronic medical record (EMR). This research interrogated de-identified patient data from the Patron primary care data repository for reports of medicinal cannabis to ascertain the feasibility of the use of EMRs to monitor medicinal cannabis prescribing in Australia. This research found patient EMRs provide potential for medicinal cannabis monitoring in the community, especially if monitoring were to be embedded into general practitioner workflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central automated unit dose dispensing (cADD) with barcode-assisted medication administration (BCMA) has been shown to reduce medication administration errors (MAEs). Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of this intervention.Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of cADD with BCMA compared to usual care.Methods: An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a prospective before-and-after effectiveness study in a Dutch university hospital. The primary effect measure was the difference between the rate of MAEs before and after implementation of cADD with BCMA, obtained by disguised observation in six clinical wards and subsequent extrapolation to the entire hospital. The cost-analysis was conducted from a hospital perspective with a 12-month incremental costing approach. The total costs covered the pharmaceutical service, nurse medication handling, wastage, and materials related to cADD. The primary outcome was the cost-effectiveness ratio expressed as costs per avoided MAE, obtained by dividing the annual incremental costs by the number of avoided MAEs. The secondary outcome was the cost-effectiveness ratio expressed as costs per avoided potentially harmful MAE (i.e. MAEs with the potential to cause harm).Results: The intervention was associated with an absolute MAE reduction of 4.5% and a reduction of 2.7% for potentially harmful MAEs. Based on 2,260,870 administered medications in the entire hospital annually, a total of 102,210 MAEs and 59,830 potentially harmful MAEs were estimated to be avoided. The intervention was associated with an increased incremental cost of €1,808,600 annually. The cost-effectiveness ratio was €17.69 per avoided MAE and €30.23 per avoided potentially harmful MAE.Conclusions: The implementation of cADD with BCMA was associated with a reduced rate of medication errors, including harmful ones, at higher overall costs. The costs per avoided error are relatively low, and therefore, this intervention could be an important strategy to improve patient safety in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The objective of this study was to assess the implementation of safe medication practices in hospital emergency services, in order to understand the points of greatest risk as well as the safety challenges faced by these departments, and to plan collaboratively improvement initiatives., Method: Multicentric and descriptive study based on completion of the "Medication safety self-assessment of emergency services" from May 16, 2023 to November 16, 2023, at voluntarily participating emergency services. The survey contained 93 items grouped into 10 key elements. Mean score and mean percentages based on the maximum possible values for the overall survey, for the key elements and for each individual item of evaluation, were determined., Results: A total of 72 emergency services completed the questionnaire. The mean score obtained for the overall questionnaire was 428.3 points (51.1% of the maximum score). Results showed a large variation among the scores of the participating services (range: 164.0-620.5). Four key elements had values below 50%, corresponding to competence and training of professionals in safety practices (38.4%); incorporation of pharmacists in emergency departments (42.1%), availability and accessibility of information about patients (43.1%), and patient education (48.1%). The highest values corresponded to labeling, packaging, and naming of medications (69.2%) and communication of prescriptions and other medication information (64%). No differences were found between emergency departments in the key elements according to the dependency or size of the hospital, or the type of department, except for the item referring to the incorporation of pharmacists in the emergency service, where differences were observed between hospitals with less than 200 beds (28.9%) and those with more than 500 (52.2%)., Conclusion: The application of the specific self-assessment questionnaire has made it possible to identify safety practices that are insufficiently implemented into emergency departments in our country and to identify critical points for improvement for which planning collaborative initiatives to reduce medication errors in these units should become a priority., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None declared., (Copyright © 2024. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

Background Medication administration errors are frequent and cause significant harm globally. However, only a few data are available on their prevalence, nature, and severity in developing countries, particularly in Brazil. This study attempts to determine the incidence, nature, and factors associated with medication administration errors observed in a university hospital. Methods This was a prospective observational study, conducted in a clinical and surgical unit of a University Hospital in Brazil. Two previously trained professionals directly observed medication preparation and administration for 15 days, 24 h a day, in February 2020. The type of error, the category of the medication involved, according to the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system, and associated risk factors were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was adopted to identify factors associated with errors. Results The administration of 561 drug doses was observed. The mean total medication administration error rate was 36.2% (95% confidence interval 32.3–40.2). The main factors associated with time errors were interruptions. Regarding technique errors, the primary factors observed were the route of administration, interruptions, and workload. Conclusions Here, we identified a high total medication administration error rate, the most frequent being technique, wrong time, dose, and omission errors. The factors associated with errors were interruptions, route of administration and workload, which agrees well with the results of other national and international studies.

Background: Medication administration errors are frequent and cause significant harm globally. However, only a few data are available on their prevalence, nature, and severity in developing countries, particularly in Brazil. This study attempts to determine the incidence, nature, and factors associated with medication administration errors observed in a university hospital. Methods: This was a prospective observational study, conducted in a clinical and surgical unit of a University Hospital in Brazil. Two previously trained professionals directly observed medication preparation and administration for 15 days, 24 h a day, in February 2020. The type of error, the category of the medication involved, according to the anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system, and associated risk factors were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was adopted to identify factors associated with errors. Results: The administration of 561 drug doses was observed. The mean total medication administration error rate was 36.2% (95% confidence interval 32.3–40.2). The main factors associated with time errors were interruptions. Regarding technique errors, the primary factors observed were the route of administration, interruptions, and workload. Conclusions: Here, we identified a high total medication administration error rate, the most frequent being technique, wrong time, dose, and omission errors. The factors associated with errors were interruptions, route of administration and workload, which agrees well with the results of other national and international studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medication errors represent a public health problem that affects patient's safety and the quality of health services on a global scale. This article presents a procedure for the analysis and prevention of medication errors from an ergonomics perspective, exemplifying its application through an illustrative case study of the administration of an injectable medication. As part of this procedure, hierarchical task analysis (HTA) methods for analyzing the task and, systematic human error reduction, and the prediction approach (SHERPA) for identifying error modes were included. A qualitative risk matrix is proposed. The proposed procedure consisted of four stages: 1) selection of the task under study, 2) detailed analysis of the task, 3) prediction of the possibility of error, and 4) development of strategies for error reduction. It is expected that the systematic use of this procedure will contribute to improving health service quality, reducing human errors and possible adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary care services in South Africa have been challenged by increasing numbers of people with communicable and non-communicable chronic diseases. There was a need to develop alternative approaches for stable patients to access medication. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic there was an urgent need to decongest facilities and protect people from infection. In this crisis the Metro Health Services rapidly implemented home delivery of medication by community health workers. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of home delivery of medication by community health workers during the coronavirus pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa.Methods: A convergent mixed methods study evaluated six implementation outcomes: adoption, feasibility, fidelity, coverage, cost, and sustainability of the initiative. Data sources included routinely collected data, a telephonic survey of 138 patients, an analysis of set-up and recurrent costs as well as 17 descriptive exploratory qualitative semi-structured interviews with 68 key informants.Results: Over a 6-month period 1,054,657 pre-packaged parcels were sent to primary care facilities, 819,649 (77.7%) were delivered and of those 97,297 (11.9%) returned. The additional costs were estimated as 1.3% of a total health budget of R2,2 billion. The initiative was rapidly adopted as it decongested facilities and protected vulnerable patients. Although it was feasible to implement at scale, numerous challenges were encountered, such as incorrect addresses and contact details, transporting parcels, communicating with patients, having a reliable audit trail, and handling out-of-area patients. All role players thought the service should continue and 42.3% of patients reported better adherence to their medication.Conclusion: Home delivery of medication by community health workers is feasible at scale and affordable. It should continue, but as one of a menu of options for alternative delivery of medication. The following need to be improved: efficiency of the system, the audit trail, adequate support and resources for community health workers, transport of medication, communication with patients, empanelment of patients, governance of the system and training of the community health workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to describe the implementation and to assess the effectiveness of a pilot integrated qualification program to improve the medication use in a long-term care facility (LTCF). Methods: This was a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation study. A pilot integrated qualification program to improve the medication use in a LTCF was carried out by implementing a new drug distribution system and a comprehensive medication management (CMM) service according to the following four steps: I) implementation of the drug distribution system followed by the evaluation of the health team's opinion; II) prescription review with the identification of potential drug therapy problems (PDTPs); III) provision of the CMM service according to the framework of Pharmaceutical Care practice within one year; and, IV) evaluation of the effectiveness of the program through the comparison of clinical and laboratory parameters (blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin and lipid fractions) using the t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: In step I, the distribution system was fully outsourced to a company that furnished all solid oral dosage forms in individual boxes containing a plastic coil with multiple envelopes for 30 days. In step II, 180 PDTPs were identified, and all patients presented with at least one of them. In step III, after the first assessment of the CMM Service, 43 actual drug therapy problems (DTPs) were identified. After one year of service provision, 96 DTPs were identified and 75.8% of them were resolved (n=72). In step IV, a statistically significant difference was observed between the initial and final minimum and maximum systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p<0,05). Conclusions: The pilot integrated qualification program had a positive impact on the clinical parameters. The global population is rapidly aging, making this type of study important to exemplify a multifaceted strategy to improve the quality of drug therapy for institutionalized patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Objective: A multitude of factors affect a hospitalized individual's blood glucose (BG), making BG difficult to predict and manage. Beyond medications well established to alter BG, such as beta-blockers, there are likely many medications with undiscovered effects on BG variability. Identification of these medications and the strength and timing of these relationships has potential to improve glycemic management and patient safety., Materials and Methods: EHR data from 103,871 inpatient encounters over 8 years within a large, urban health system was used to extract over 500 medications, laboratory measurements, and clinical predictors of BG. Feature selection was performed using an optimized Lasso model with repeated 5-fold cross-validation on the 80% training set, followed by a linear mixed regression model to evaluate statistical significance. Significant medication predictors were then evaluated for novelty against a comprehensive adverse drug event database., Results: We found 29 statistically significant features associated with BG; 24 were medications including 10 medications not previously documented to alter BG. The remaining five factors were Black/African American race, history of type 2 diabetes mellitus, prior BG (mean and last) and creatinine., Discussion: The unexpected medications, including several agents involved in gastrointestinal motility, found to affect BG were supported by available studies. This study may bring to light medications to use with caution in individuals with hyper- or hypoglycemia. Further investigation of these potential candidates is needed to enhance clinical utility of these findings., Conclusion: This study uniquely identifies medications involved in gastrointestinal transit to be predictors of BG that may not well established and recognized in clinical practice., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: None

Describe the concept of Hospital Medication System. Concept analysis about Hospital Medication System, according to the Walker and Avant method, through an integrative literature review of 48 scientific productions on the subject. The results suggest that there is divergence among researchers in the use of the concept and the use of several synonymous terms. Are presented in three thematic pillars: 1) definition attributes; 2) substitute terms and related concepts; 3) background and consequences. We can consider an operational definition of Hospital Medication System as a complex, organized and multi-professional system with interdependent patient-focused processes that share the common goal of safely, effectively, appropriately and efficiently providing medicines to patients, involving doctors, pharmacists and nurses, patients and relatives/caregivers, with multiple stages and multiple passages of responsibility, influenced by the organizational and care environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication administration errors (MAEs) occur frequently in hospitals and may compromise patient safety. Preventive strategies are needed to reduce the risk of MAEs.Objective: The primary aim of this study was to assess the effect of central automated unit dose dispensing with barcode-assisted medication administration on the prevalence of MAEs. Secondary aims were to assess the effect on the type and potential severity of MAEs. Furthermore, compliance with procedures regarding scanning of patient and medication barcodes and nursing staff satisfaction with the medication administration system were assessed.Methods: We performed a prospective uncontrolled before-and-after study in six clinical wards in a Dutch university hospital from 2018 to 2020. MAE data were collected by observation. The primary outcome was the proportion of medication administrations with one or more MAEs. Secondary outcomes were the type and potential severity of MAEs, rates of compliance with patient identification and signing of administered medication by scanning and nursing staff satisfaction with the medication administration system. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were used for the primary outcome to adjust for confounding and for clustering on nurse and patient level.Results: One or more MAEs occurred in 291 of 1490 administrations (19.5%) pre-intervention and in 258 of 1630 administrations (15.8%) post-intervention (adjusted odds ratio 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.51-0.96). The rate of omission fell from 4.6% to 2.0% and of wrong dose from 3.8% to 2.1%, whereas rates of other MAE types were similar. The rate of potentially harmful MAEs fell from 3.0% (n = 44) to 0.3% (n = 5). The rates of compliance with scanning of patient and medication barcode post-intervention were 13.6% and 55.9%, respectively.The median overall satisfaction score of the nurses with the medication administration system on a 100-point scale was 70 (interquartile range 63-75, n = 193) pre-intervention and 70 (interquartile range 60-78, n = 145) post-intervention (P = 0.626, Mann-Whitney U test).Conclusion: The implementation of central automated unit dose dispensing with barcode-assisted medication administration was associated with a lower probability of MAEs, including potentially harmful errors, but more compliance with scanning procedures is needed. Nurses were moderately satisfied with the medication administration system, both before and after implementation. In conclusion, despite low compliance with scanning procedures, this study shows that this intervention contributes to the improvement of medication safety in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing age is associated with more medication errors in hospitalised patients. Patient engagement is a strategy to reduce medication harm. Aims: To measure older patients' preferences for and reported medication safety behaviours, identify the relationship between preferred and reported medication safety behaviours and identify whether perceptions of medication safety behaviours differ between groups of young–old, middle–old and old–old patients (65–74 years, 75–84 years, and ≥ 85 years). Methods: A survey, which included the Inpatient Medication Safety Involvement Scale (IMSIS) was administered to 200 older patients from medical settings, at one hospital. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Spearman's rho and the Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: Patients reported a desire to ask questions (59.5% n = 119) and check with healthcare professionals if they perceived that a medication was wrong (86.5% n = 173) or forgotten (87.0% n = 174). Patients did not have particular preferences, which differed from their experiences in terms of viewing the medication administration chart and self-administering medications. Preferred and reported behaviours correlated positively (r = 0.46–0.58, n = 200, p ≤ 0.001). Young-old patients preferred notifying healthcare professionals of perceived medication errors more than middle–old and old–old patients (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: Older patients may prefer verbal medication safety behaviours like asking questions and notifying healthcare professionals of medication errors, over viewing medication charts and self-administering medications. The young-old group wanted to identify perceived medication errors more than other age groups. Older patients are willing to engage in medication safety behaviours, and healthcare professionals and organisations need to embrace this engagement in an effort to reduce medication harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective was to investigate antiretroviral adherence device use by HIV-infected youth and assess associations of device use with viral suppression and self-reported adherence. This cross-sectional, multisite, clinic-based study included data from 1,317 HIV-infected individuals 12-24 years of age that were prescribed antiretroviral therapy. Mean adherence in the past 7 days was 86.1 % and 50.5 % had an undetectable HIV RNA. Pillbox was the most commonly endorsed device. No specific device was independently associated with higher odds of 100 % adherence. Paradoxically, having an undetectable HIV RNA was inversely associated with use of adherence devices (OR 0.80; p = 0.04); however, among those with

Background: The number of people in South Africa with chronic conditions is a challenge to the health system. In response to the coronavirus infection, health services in Cape Town introduced home delivery of medication by community health workers. In planning for the future, they requested a scoping review of alternative mechanisms for delivery of medication to patients in primary health care in South Africa. Methods: Databases were systematically searched using a comprehensive search strategy to identify studies from the last 10 years. A methodological guideline for conducting scoping reviews was followed. A standardised template was used to extract data and compare study characteristics and findings. Data was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results: A total of 4253 publications were identified and 26 included. Most publications were from the last 5 years (n = 21), research (n = 24), Western Cape (n = 15) and focused on adherence clubs (n = 17), alternative pick-up-points (n = 14), home delivery (n = 5) and HIV (n = 17). The majority of alternative mechanisms were supported by a centralised dispensing and packaging system. New technology such as smart lockers and automated pharmacy dispensing units have been piloted. Patients benefited from these alternatives and had improved adherence. Available evidence suggests alternative mechanisms were cheaper and more beneficial than attending the facility to collect medication. Conclusion: A mix of options tailored to the local context and patient choice that can be adequately managed by the system would be ideal. More economic evaluations are required of the alternatives, particularly before going to scale and for newer technology.

Introduction: Treatment for multiple sclerosis should focus on relapse prevention and treatment, as well as symptom and disease progression control, which require the use of multiple medications. Objective: To evaluate the association of polypharmacy and related clinical, epidemiological factors in multiple sclerosis patient cohorts. Methods: It was conducted a prospective study of multiple sclerosis patients that held a prescription of disease-modifying drugs between January and December 2017. The medications were analyzed and classified as either long-term or as-needed medications for therapeutic objective and prescription status purposes. Results: During 2017, 124 patients were attended, 106 were eligible for the study, and 81 agreed to participate. The average age was 40.95±11.69 years. The disease duration varied between 6 months and 30 years, with a median of 7 years. More than half of the multiple sclerosis patients suffered from comorbidities (54.32%), and 76.54% were categorized as polypharmacy. The comparison of polypharmacy between the groups yielded significant differences for comorbidities and employment status and regarding age between patients with polypharmacy and patients without polypharmacy of long-term medications. Conclusion: The age of the patient and the presence of comorbidities are important factors related to polypharmacy.

Missed medication doses can affect patient safety in hospitals. The use of automated dispensing cabinets (ADC) in clinical areas may reduce the occurrence of medications being unavailable at the time of need by alerting pharmacy to replenish stock. However, workarounds in ADC use can affect this capability. We studied nurses' use of an ADC in a paediatric intensive care unit with ~54 hours of observation, semi-structure interviews (19 nurses; 4 pharmacy/management staff) and review of reported incidents. We found running out of medication a recurrent problem despite the ADC. Contributing factors affecting data entry in the ADC, and therefore replenishment alerts to pharmacy, included: the organisation of medication activities in the ward, nurses' information needs, patients' medication needs, and ADC design. Running out of medications was a 'tragedy of the commons'. Effective solutions may require going beyond user training and directives for accurate data entry, to work process redesign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of people in South Africa with chronic conditions is a challenge to the health system. In response to the coronavirus infection, health services in Cape Town introduced home delivery of medication by community health workers. In planning for the future, they requested a scoping review of alternative mechanisms for delivery of medication to patients in primary health care in South Africa. Methods: Databases were systematically searched using a comprehensive search strategy to identify studies from the last 10 years. A methodological guideline for conducting scoping reviews was followed. A standardised template was used to extract data and compare study characteristics and findings. Data was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Results: A total of 4253 publications were identified and 26 included. Most publications were from the last 5 years (n = 21), research (n = 24), Western Cape (n = 15) and focused on adherence clubs (n = 17), alternative pick-up-points (n = 14), home delivery (n = 5) and HIV (n = 17). The majority of alternative mechanisms were supported by a centralised dispensing and packaging system. New technology such as smart lockers and automated pharmacy dispensing units have been piloted. Patients benefited from these alternatives and had improved adherence. Available evidence suggests alternative mechanisms were cheaper and more beneficial than attending the facility to collect medication. Conclusion: A mix of options tailored to the local context and patient choice that can be adequately managed by the system would be ideal. More economic evaluations are required of the alternatives, particularly before going to scale and for newer technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors offer a strategic approach on how pediatric hospitals can ensure safe medication practices for adult patients and offering tools to aid in risk assessment and mitigation planning. Topics mentioned include how the Children's Hospital Association advances the health of children, the role of the pharmacy informatics team in providing technical support to optimize order entry and verification processes, and development of a training manual specific to adult disease state management.

Purpose: To assess characteristics the application of mobile medication system and medication administration error (MAE) alerts in a general hospital. Methods: The subject hospital adopted a mobile medication system in 2016. All medication administrations in the general wards and ICUs were automatically recorded in real-time using identification barcodes, drug barcodes, and hand-held point-of-care devices. MAE alert logs were recorded from April 1st 2017 to March 31st 2018. For this study analysis was done using Pearson's chi-squared test for potentially related factors of MAE alerts included administration time, order type, medication route, and length of nurse's employment. Results: The total number of medications during the period of this study was 3,227,990. Among them, 2,698,317 medication doses were recorded, resulting in the system application rate of 83.6%. The system application rate was significantly correlated with all factors related to potential MAE alters. In this study 23,314 MAE alerts(0.9% of the total medication doses) were identified. The MAE alerts were related to new (OR=2.26, p<.001) and emergency (OR=2.25, p<.001) orders, and administration at a non-standard time (0R=2.032, p<.001). Medication route (p<.001), and nurse's employment duration(p<.001) were also related. Conclusion: A mobile medication system contributes to improving patient safety by preventing potential MAEs. The MAE alerts were related to administration time, order type, medication route, and duration of nurse's employment. In order to prevent medication administration errors, it is necessary to standardize the process of medication and create an environment in which medication administration can be performed in a planned situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug shortages have significantly affected the ability to provide care at pediatric institutions, particularly in the inpatient and critical care settings. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted additional challenges with drug supply chains. A working group consisting of pharmacy management, clinical pharmacists, and pharmacy buyers met regularly at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with medical staff leadership and the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, we developed a pediatric critical drug list to track essential medications for targeted monitoring. We created an inventory model with easily modifiable input variables related to patient and hospital data. This model was aligned across affiliate health care systems to increase transparency of our hospital's surge capacity for managing patients with COVID-19. Here, we share our framework for modeling drug inventory management at a freestanding children's hospital during a global pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of drones in the health care sector is increasingly being discussed against the background of the aging population and the growing shortage of skilled workers. In particular, the use of drones to provide medication in rural areas could bring advantages for the care of people with and without a need for care. However, there are hardly any data available that focus on the interaction between humans and drones., Objective: This study aims to disclose and analyze factors associated with user acceptance of drone-based medication delivery to derive practice-relevant guidance points for participatory technology development (for apps and drones)., Methods: A controlled mixed methods study was conducted that supports the technical development process of an app design for drone-assisted drug delivery based on a participatory research design. For the quantitative analysis, established and standardized survey instruments to capture technology acceptance, such as the System Usability Scale; Technology Usage Inventory (TUI); and the Motivation, Engagement, and Thriving in User Experience model, were used. To avoid possible biasing effects from a continuous user development (eg, response shifts and learning effects), an ad hoc group was formed at each of the 3 iterative development steps and was subsequently compared with the consisting core group, which went through all 3 iterations., Results: The study found a positive correlation between the usability of a pharmacy drone app and participants' willingness to use it (r=0.833). Participants' perception of usefulness positively influenced their willingness to use the app (r=0.487; TUI). Skepticism had a negative impact on perceived usability and willingness to use it (r=-0.542; System Usability Scale and r=-0.446; TUI). The study found that usefulness, skepticism, and curiosity explained most of the intention to use the app (F 3,17 =21.12; P<.001; R 2 =0.788; adjusted R 2 =0.751). The core group showed higher ratings on the intention to use the pharmacy drone app than the ad hoc groups. Results of the 2-tailed t tests showed a higher rating on usability for the third iteration of the core group compared with the first iteration., Conclusions: With the help of the participatory design, important aspects of acceptance could be revealed by the people involved in relation to drone-assisted drug delivery. For example, the length of time spent using the technology is an important factor for the intention to use the app. Technology-specific factors such as user-friendliness or curiosity are directly related to the use acceptance of the drone app. Results of this study showed that the more participants perceived their own competence in handling the app, the more they were willing to use the technology and the more they rated the app as usable., (©Franziska Fink, Ivonne Kalter, Jenny-Victoria Steindorff, Hans Konrad Helmbold, Denny Paulicke, Patrick Jahn. Originally published in JMIR Human Factors (https://humanfactors.jmir.org), 30.04.2024.)

This study was carried out in a Swiss acute care community hospital to investigate the frequency, type, causes and potential clinical consequences of medication errors (MEs) caused by nurses and physicians in all stages of a technology-supported medication process, the relationship between the nurses’ workload and the medication administration errors (MAEs) and their reason for workload.

A primary service provided by home care is medication management. Issues with medication management at home place older adults at high risk for hospital admission, readmission, and adverse events. This study sought to understand medication management challenges from the home care provider perspective. A qualitative secondary data analysis approach was used to analyze program evaluation interview data from an interprofessional educational intervention study designed to decrease medication complexity in older urban adults receiving home care. Directed and summative content analysis approaches were used to analyze data from 90 clinician and student participants. Medication safety issues along with provider-provider communication problems were central themes with medication complexity. Fragmented care coordination contributed to medication management complexity. Patient-, provider-, and system-level factors influencing medication complexity and management were identified as contributing to both communication and coordination challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights drug shortages in the U.S. as a result of the COVID-19 crisis as of April 2020, and offers recommendations for alleviating the problem in response to future threats. Issues with the drug supply chain in the U.S. during the pandemic include a reduction in air and ground traffic and forced closure of factories. Among the proposed policies and actions to address such shortages include increased production and stockpiles and improved communication and reporting.

Purpose To provide pharmacists and other clinicians with a basic understanding of the underlying principles and practical applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the medication-use process. Summary "Artificial intelligence" is a general term used to describe the theory and development of computer systems to perform tasks that normally would require human cognition, such as perception, language understanding, reasoning, learning, planning, and problem solving. Following the fundamental theorem of informatics, a better term for AI would be "augmented intelligence," or leveraging the strengths of computers and the strengths of clinicians together to obtain improved outcomes for patients. Understanding the vocabulary of and methods used in AI will help clinicians productively communicate with data scientists to collaborate on developing models that augment patient care. This primer includes discussion of approaches to identifying problems in practice that could benefit from application of AI and those that would not, as well as methods of training, validating, implementing, evaluating, and maintaining AI models. Some key limitations of AI related to the medication-use process are also discussed. Conclusion As medication-use domain experts, pharmacists play a key role in developing and evaluating AI in healthcare. An understanding of the core concepts of AI is necessary to engage in collaboration with data scientists and critically evaluating its place in patient care, especially as clinical practice continues to evolve and develop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. The use of pharmaceutical products is a very complex part of healthcare, where a variety of healthcare professionals collaborate. Unfortunately, the role of all professional groups does not seem to be entirely clear despite of the high regulation. Evidence suggests that the role of nurses can be much wider than expected and specified by the related policies. Aim. The aim of the study was to explore nurses', physicians' and pharmacists' perspectives of nurses' practices related to pharmaceutical care (PC) in the Czech Republic. Methods. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted. Qualified nurses (629), physicians (69) and pharmacists (39) were questioned about their views on the nurses' involvement in various advanced activities related to PC. Results. Participation on the advanced activities related to PC during the last month was high (providing information and patient education 80%; monitoring medication adherence 72%; monitoring medication effects 56% and participation on prescribing medication 19%). Nurses were most likely to see the investigated PC aspects as part of their nursing tasks when compared to the physicians' or pharmacists' point of view. However, a substantial part of participants believed in the positive impact of nurses' involvement in activities related to PC. On the other side, interprofessional collaboration remains unsatisfactory and communication within an interprofessional team was rated as being very poor. Conclusions. The need to increase the nurses' involvement in PC exists. Optimising formal nurses' competencies, revising the skills mix in different types of workplaces and revising the nursing curricula, as well as improving the interprofessional collaboration, could result in a positive effect on patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hospital drug therapy has the potential for incidents, thus it is necessary to identify situations that may compromise patient safety. Objective: To investigate potential drug-drug interactions caused by the overlapping of medications planned by nurses in the patients' prescriptions at a hospital inpatient unit. Methodology: Descriptive, cross-sectional study of documentary analysis with a quantitative approach, of 260 prescriptions for adult patients. Potential drug- interactions were identified using the Drug Interaction Checker (Medscape®). Results: A total of 3066 doses were analyzed, with a concentration of 4 schedules, showing an institutional standardization of schedules. The omission error rate was 5.44%. Drug-drug interactions of moderate severity were more frequent, especially lopinavir/clonazepam and diazepam/tramadol combinations. Conclusion: Omission errors and interactions can be minimized with tools to support clinical decision and reconfiguration of the work process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary Sense is a new data extraction, analysis and reporting tool that the Gold Coast Primary Health Network (GCPHN) has developed to enable practical and effective population health management in general practice and also on a regional level. Once installed, the tool de-identifies data within the practice before running it through various clinical risk algorithms to create practical information that can easily be actioned within the general practice business model in at least two ways. The first is to generate up-to-date reports of patients who are most likely to benefit from specific interventions or occasions of service. The second is to identify potentially serious medication safety issues, alerting clinicians in real time at point of prescribing. Formal live testing of the system was completed in nine practices where 22 managers and nurses and 42 GPs used the tool over a 5-month period in 2019. The live test monitored the use of reports and alerts, and regular feedback from users enabled small but important improvements to the tool. Practice teams successfully used the reports to target specific groups of patients with outstanding care needs or who were at greatest risk of adverse health outcomes. The results of the live test showed that users found Primary Sense to be easy to use and beneficial to general practice. The next phase of this project is now underway to further trial the scalability and change management requirements for full implementation of Primary Sense. As more and more practices adopt the tool, the aggregated data will increasingly help to support population health planning, commissioning of local services, active health surveillance and other related activities. General practices do not have highly analytical population health management tools to enable them to care for patients attending regularly, as well as those that do not. Primary Sense can risk stratify the entire attending population into complexity bands, case find patients at risk, identify gaps in care and predict increasing needs and risk of hospitalisation. Practices can identify those at risk of poor outcomes and pro-actively manage their patient populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Registries on in-hospital drug use are sparse, especially those that can be linked to nationwide registries. In this study, we present and validate the Electronic Patient Medication module (EPM)—the electronic administrative database on in-hospital drug use covering the Capital Region of Denmark. Methods: The research database (EPM-research) is an adaptation of the database underlying the electronic administrative database for in-hospital drug use (EPM-clinic). The validation study was comprised of two sub-studies. Sub-study 1: Accordance of registration between EPM-clinic and EPM-research was investigated by analyzing randomly chosen retrospective patient records. Sub-study 2: Workflows and real-life registration practices were investigated through visits to three different (two medical and one emergency) departments. An observer followed a nurse while dispensing and administering drugs. This information was compared with EPM-research. The primary endpoint for both sub-studies was accordance of generic name between registrations. Secondary endpoints were exact brand name, dose, and time of each administration. Accordance (proportions) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using the Clopper-Pearson method were calculated. The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (BFH-2016-058-04906) and the Danish Patient Safety Authority (3-3013-1884/1/). Results: In sub-study 1 227 retrospective drug administrations were reviewed. Accordance of generic name was 100.0% (CI 98.4%−100.0%). In sub-study 2 176 drug administrations were observed of which 173 were recorded with identical generic name, resulting in 98.3% (CI 95.1%-99.6%) accordance of data. Conclusions: Our validation of the EPM-research showed very high accordance. With detailed information on in-hospital drug use, the EPM-research may be a useful tool in pharmacoepidemiological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence is limited of automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) impact on effectiveness and efficiency of controlled drugs' (CDs) governance processes. We carried out a mixed-methods study of an ADC in an intensive care unit. We found ADC improved effectiveness and efficiency of governance of CDs through secure storage, alerts and automated recording of transactions. Limitations were associated with ADC design and 'fit' between ADC and some types of CDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]