Health care delivery is changing rapidly and that brings new opportunities for error, according to a speaker at the 34th midyear clinical meeting of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), held in Orlando, Florida, from December 5 to 9, 1999. Almost 16,500 people gathered at the Orange County convention centre for the meeting, including participants from 35 countries. This three-page report, contributed by Laurence Goldberg (consultant pharmacist) and Christine Clark (medical writer) looks at some of the topics covered
According to a survey conducted by ASHP in 1999, 61 per cent of patients were "very concerned" about being given the wrong medication in hospital. Similar numbers were concerned about receiving interacting medications (58 per cent), suffering medical complications (56 per cent), getting an infection (50 per cent) and suffering from pain (49 per cent).
"With more and more sophisticated and powerful drugs entering the market today, patients are increasingly worried about the accuracy, safety and appropriate monitoring of their medications to ensure the best outcomes," says the ASHP. "This study shows that patients need to feel more comfortable about their pharmaceutical treatments."
A consumer website (Safemedication.com) designed to provide authoritative information about medicines to patients was launched by ASHP.
The advice from Dr Jerry Smith (college of medicine, community heath and family medicine, Gainsville, Florida), who had compared seven different clinical pharmacy intervention software packages, was to "Choose a system that matches your practice needs and try to see it in action beforehand."
It was important to do a "hands-on" evaluation rather than relying on a demonstration disc, he added, as these systems could cost anything from $600 to $10,000, depending on the type of installation. His survey embraced three systems designed for hospital use, three for community use and one which could be used in both settings. The complete comparison table can be found at Dr Smith's website (pharmacysoftware@hotmail.com).
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