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Jo Tizard is medicines liaison manager at Southampton
General Hospital
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SUMMARY
Historically, the task of taking a drug history from a patient when
they are admitted to hospital has been undertaken by junior doctors.
However, there is evidence that pharmacists take more accurate drug histories.
Using the skills of pharmacy technicians and pharmacists at ward level
to promote better medicines management was an important theme of the
Audit Commission’s report entitled “A Spoonful of Sugar”.
With the number of pharmacy technicians working in clinical settings
increasing, more technicians are taking on roles that incorporate drug
history taking.
At Southampton Universities Hospitals NHS Trust, extending the role of
the pharmacy technician has been an integral part of the medicines management
programme since 1997, when the trust implemented a scheme to use patients’ own
drugs.
As the roles of ward-based technicians evolved, drug history taking
by technicians became a common occurrence, especially for those working
in the acute medical unit (AMU).
Panel 1: Standards used to assess
drug history quality
• All drug histories are fully
documented when taken from a patient
• All drug names documented are
legible
• All drug names documented are written generically (except where
brand names are important)
• All drug doses are documented
• All drug frequencies are
documented
• Allergy status is confirmed and
documented in all patients
• The sources of information used for obtaining the drug history
is
documented for all patients |
“Focus on technician” articles
Any pharmacist or technician who is is involved in
any new developments in
work undertaken by technicians is asked
to consider writing an article for
publication. Advice on the publication process can be obtained
by telephoning the editorial office on 020 7572 2425/2419.
Articles
can be sent by post to Hospital Pharmacist, 1 Lambeth High Street,
London, SE1 7JN, or submitted by e-mail to
hannah.pike@pharmj.org.uk |
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Hospital
Pharmacist