Improving junior doctor prescribing - the positive impact of a pharmacist intervention

Home > PJ (current issue) > Original papers

The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 278 No 7437 p136-139
3 February 2007

This article
Reprint Photocopy

PDF 80K, Acrobat Reader

Original papers

Improving junior doctor prescribing — the positive impact of a pharmacist intervention

By Daniela Webbe, Soraya Dhillon and C. Michael Roberts

Daniela Webbe, MSc, MRPharmS, is principal pharmacist medicines management at Whipps Cross University Hospital.

Soraya Dhillon, PhD, MRPharmS, is head of the University of Hertfordshire school of pharmacy.

Michael Roberts, MD, FRCP, is consultant physician at Whipps Cross University Hospital.

Correspondence to: Daniela Webbe, Pharmacy Department, Whipps Cross University Hospital, Leytonstone, London E11 1NR
e-mail daniela.webbe@whippsx.nhs.uk

Abstract

Aim
To assess the feasibility of implementing a clinical teaching pharmacist programme to improve prescribing skills among newly qualified preregistration house officers (PRHOs).

Design
An observational pilot study.

Subjects and setting
13 medical PRHOs at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London.

Results
A 37.5% reduction (P=0.14) in prescribing errors after pharmacist intervention.

Conclusions
It is feasible for a teaching pharmacist to provide structured training to PRHOs in the clinical workplace. This pilot suggests that error rates are reduced by the intervention but a larger study is now required to confirm these findings.

Full text article PDF (80K)