A clinical pharmacist-led integrated approach for evaluation of medication errors among medical intensive care unit patients

International Journal of Evidence-based Healthcare
Mina Aghili, Meera Neelathahalli Kasturirangan

Abstract

Medication errors jeopardize the safety of critically ill patients. Using only one method for the detection of medication errors may not reflect an existing picture of patient safety accurately. Therefore, we designed a clinical pharmacist-led integrated approach to evaluate incidence rate, type, and severity of medication errors and preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) and to assess the impact of the implementation of interventions recommended by the clinical pharmacist. A prospective study was conducted from November 2017 to January 2019 in the medical ICU. The clinical pharmacist performed a combination of medication error detection methods, which included medication chart review, patient monitoring until discharge/death, and attending medical rounds. Detected medication errors were intervened with prescribers. Based on the prescribers' decision on delivered interventions, patients were divided into two groups: A (clinical pharmacist's interventions were implemented), and B (clinical pharmacist's interventions were not implemented). We compared patients' outcomes obtained from study groups to evaluate the impact of the implementation of interventions performed by the clinical pharmacist. A total of 271 medication errors (1...Continue Reading

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