Pharmacist intervention on prescribing errors: Use of a standardized approach in the inpatient setting

Purpose: The objective of this study was to implement a standardized process across health systems to determine the prevalence and clinical relevance of prescribing errors intercepted by pharmacists. Methods: This prospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted across 11 hospitals. Pharm...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Barsegyan, N. (Author), Cabri, A. (Author), Nguyen, V. (Author), Postelnick, M. (Author), Schulz, L. (Author), Shane, R. (Author), Szwak, J. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2021
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Summary:Purpose: The objective of this study was to implement a standardized process across health systems to determine the prevalence and clinical relevance of prescribing errors intercepted by pharmacists. Methods: This prospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted across 11 hospitals. Pharmacist-intercepted prescribing errors were collected during inpatient order verification over 6 consecutive weeks utilizing a standardized documentation process. The potential harm of each error was evaluated using a modified National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC-MERP) index with physician validation, and errors were stratified into those with potentially low, serious, or life-threatening harm. Endpoints included the median error rate per 1,000 patient days, error type, and potential harm with correlating cost avoidance. Results: Pharmacists intervened on 7,187 errors, resulting in a mean error rate of 39 errors per 1,000 patient days. Among the errors, 46.6% (n = 3,349) were determined to have potentially serious consequences and 2.4% (n = 175) could have been life-threatening if not intercepted. This equates to
ISBN:10792082 (ISSN)
DOI:10.1093/ajhp/zxab278