Computerized pharmaceutical intervention to reduce reconciliation errors at hospital discharge in Spain: an interrupted time-series study.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: It is well known that medication reconciliation at discharge is a key strategy to ensure proper drug prescription and the effectiveness and safety of any treatment. Different types of interventions to reduce reconciliation errors at discharge have been tested, many of which are based on the use of electronic tools as they are useful to optimize the medication reconciliation process. However, not all countries are progressing at the same speed in this task and not all tools are equally effective. So it is important to collate updated country-specific data in order to identify possible strategies for improvement in each particular region. Our aim therefore was to analyse the effectiveness of a computerized pharmaceutical intervention to reduce reconciliation errors at discharge in Spain. METHODS: A quasi-experimental interrupted time-series study was carried out in the cardio-pneumology unit of a general hospital from February to April 2013. The study consisted of three phases: pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention, each involving 23 days of observations. At the intervention period, a pharmacist was included in the medical team and entered the patient's pre-admission medication in a computerized tool integrated into the electronic clinical history of the patient. The effectiveness was evaluated by the differences between the mean percentages of reconciliation errors in each period using a Mann-Whitney U test accompanied by Bonferroni correction, eliminating autocorrelation of the data by first using an ARIMA analysis. In addition, the types of error identified and their potential seriousness were analysed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A total of 321 patients (119, 105 and 97 in each phase, respectively) were included in the study. For the 3966 medicaments recorded, 1087 reconciliation errors were identified in 77·9% of the patients. The mean percentage of reconciliation errors per patient in the first period of the study was 42·18%, falling to 19·82% during the intervention period (P = 0·000). When the intervention was withdrawn, the mean percentage of reconciliation errors increased again to 27·72% (P = 0·008). The difference between the percentages of pre- and post-intervention periods was statistically significant (P = 0·000). Most reconciliation errors were due to omission (46·7%) or incomplete prescription (43·8%), and 35·3% of which could have caused harm to the patient. WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: A computerized pharmaceutical intervention is shown to reduce reconciliation errors in the context of a high incidence of such errors.

Evaluación de la anamnesis farmacoterapéutica realizada en el servicio de urgencias al ingreso hospitalario / Medication history taking on admission to a hospital emergency department

Objetivo: Determinar la calidad y la precisión de la historia farmacoterapéutica realizada al ingreso en el servicio de urgencias y los factores asociados a la presencia de discrepancias. Método: Estudio transversal descriptivo. Se incluyeron los pacientes mayores de 64 años que ingresaron en el hospital desde el servicio de urgencias durante el último trimestre de 2009. Para determinar la presencia de discrepancias se cotejó la historia farmacoterapéutica realizada por un farmacéutico clínico con la obtenida por el urgenciólogo al ingreso hospitalario. Los factores asociados a de discrepancias se identificaron mediante un análisis de regresión logística univariante con el paquete estadístico SPSS versión 15.0. Resultados: Se incluyeron en el estudio 324 pacientes (53,4% mujeres) con una edad media de 78,3 años. Se identificaron 2.928 discrepancias que afectaron al 95,1%(IC95%: 92,7-97,4%) de los pacientes. Los grupos terapéuticos con mayor número de las discrepancias detectadas fueron los antiulcerosos (10,8%), los antitrombóticos (9,5%) y psicolépticos (7,2%). Se detectaron 257 discrepancias (8,8%) en medicamentos de alto riesgo en el 33,3% (IC95%: 28,2-38,5%) de los pacientes. La polimedicación fue la única variable independiente asociada a una mayor prevalencia de discrepancias [OR: 8,02 (IC95%: 2,79-23,02)].Conclusiones: Nuestros resultados muestran que existe un amplio margen de mejora,en la historia farmacoterapéutica realizada en urgencias, y debe extremarse la precaución en la población anciana y polimedicada (AU)

Objectives: To determine the quality and accuracy of medication histories taken during admission to the emergency department (ED) and to analyze the factors that may be related to the presence of discrepancies. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Patients over the age of 64 years were enrolled on admission to the hospital from the during the last quarter of 2009. To detect the presence of discrepancies we compared the medication histories taken by a clinical pharmacist to the ones taken by an emergency physician on admission. Regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the presence of discrepancies. Results: A total of 324 patients (53.4% women) with a mean age of 78.3 years were enrolled. We detected 2928 discrepancies affecting 95.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 92.7%-97.4%) of the patients. The medication groups with the largest numbers of discrepancies were antiulcer drugs (10.8%), antithrombotic drugs (9.5%), and psycholeptics(7.2%). We detected discrepancies in the recording of 257 high-risk drugs (8.8%) in 33.3% (95% CI, 28.2%-38.5%) of the patients. The only independent variable associated with a higher prevalence of discrepancies was the use of multiple medications (odds ratio, 8.02 (95% CI, 2.79-23.02).Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that there is ample room for improvement, on medication history taken at ED, and increased cuation should be taken for patients of advanced age and those taking multiple medications (AU)

La carpeta de aprendizaje: una innovación docente en la asignatura de Radiología y Medicina Física Especial / The portfolio: an innovate educational project on the subject of Radiology and Special Physical Medicine

Objetivo. Presentar una innovación docente desarrollada en la asignatura de Radiología y Medicina Física Especial durante el curso académico 2006-2007. Sujetos y métodos. Los alumnos realizaron una rotación durante dos semanas en los servicios de Radiodiagnóstico y Medicina Nuclear, en grupos pequeños. La metodología docente utilizada fue la carpeta de aprendizaje o portafolio. Se describen los aspectos fundamentales para la elaboración de la carpeta y de los casos clínicos, así como del sistema de evaluación. Dentro del ciclo de mejora continuada se llevó a cabo una encuesta de satisfacción. Resultados. Los resultados académicos obtenidos fueron excelentes. La mayoría de los alumnos consideraron que la asignatura fue interesante. También señalaron una valoración positiva de la rotación, de los seminarios y del sistema de evaluación. Asimismo, la opinión de los alumnos acerca de la experiencia docente realizada fue muy favorable. Conclusión. La satisfacción global de los alumnos ha sido muy alta con la metodología docente implantada en la asignatura (AU)

Aim. To introduce a learning innovation on the subject of Radiology and Special Physical Medicine along the academic year 2006/2007. Subjects and methods. Working in small groups, students carried out a two-week rotation in the departments of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. The portfolio was the educational methodology used. The main aspects to elaborate the portfolio, the case reports, aswell as the evaluation system are described. A satisfaction survey within the continuous improvement course was performed. Results. The academic results achieved were excellent. The subject was considered interesting by most of the students. A positive evaluation about the rotation made by the students, the seminaries and the evaluation system was made. Students’ opinion about the educational experience performed was also, very favourable. Conclusion. The educational methodology introduced in the subject has produced a high level of satisfaction among the students (AU)