Accuracy of Inpatient Recall of Interaction With a Pharmacist: A Validation Study From 2 Acute Care Teaching Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that inpatients may not accurately report interacting with a pharmacist. OBJECTIVE: To determine accuracy of patients' recollection of meeting with a pharmacist at 2 acute care teaching hospitals in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. METHODS: Retrospective review of 391 surveyed patients discharged from April 2013 to March 2014. Responses to meeting a pharmacist (yes/no) were compared with 2 reference standards: pharmacist documentation in patient charts and pharmacist clinical workload data. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive, and negative predictive values were calculated. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-five (49.9%) respondents reported meeting with a pharmacist. Of these, 71 (36.4%) had corresponding pharmacist chart documentation. Of the 196 respondents who reported not speaking with a pharmacist, 73 (37.2%) had documentation present. Compared with patient charts, sensitivity and specificity were 49.3% and 49.8%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 36.4% and 62.8%, respectively. Similar results were seen in comparison with the workload data. CONCLUSIONS: Patients often inaccurately reported meeting with a pharmacist in the acute care setting. The results are useful for pharmacist training, patient education, and for refinement of the current survey question.

Worksheets with embedded checklists support IV chemotherapy safer practice.

Following a review of a chemotherapy medication adverse event where the incorrect medication was prepared by a pharmacy, a number of steps were taken to review the literature and best practice information related to checking processes for the preparation of parenteral chemotherapy. Concepts such as identification of critical stop check points, independent double checks, and human factors principles were reviewed and incorporated into newly designed chemotherapy preparation worksheets with embedded checklists. Usability testing and staff feedback during implementation revealed a number of key learning points that resulted in additional work to further improve the chemotherapy worksheets with embedded checklists and highlighted the need for a culture of continuous quality improvement.