Medicines Management
Issue no 2, pp17-18
March/April 2002
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Medicines Management |
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Features |
Software designed to make life easier for pharmacists
Pharma-Decision has two modules — one for systematic analysis of alternative products or devices and one for critical event monitoring. So far, it has been used by pharmacists in France to provide information to formulary committees and for monitoring adverse events.1-3 The first module enables pharmacists to compile customised value-for-money comparisons of products or devices (or services) of their own choosing and is designed to accommodate all the criteria that might be used for product selection, eg, ease of use, supplier service, dosage forms, clinical effectiveness and cost. The selection criteria are chosen and ranked by the user; each product is then rated on the different criteria and a weighted score is generated. The reasons for the criteria can be recorded on electronic 'post-it' notes for future reference. Clinical effectiveness can be analysed and compared in as much or as little detail as desired. For this option the software framework is used to record the outcomes of interest and level of evidence (found by the user) using the conventional hierarchy (in which meta-analysis of RCTs is highest and expert opinion is lowest). Costs can be evaluated from whichever perspective the user chooses. He/she may use acquisition costs alone or include the costs of labour, disposables and adverse events. A complete file of UK drug products, including current NHS prices, is built into the package but users can input data manually and also customise the list to suit their own needs. Once all the data have been entered, the results can be displayed graphically. This may be as cost against weighted score or cost against effectiveness. They can be shown as absolute values, as changes in costs and effectiveness, or as an overall score compared with a standard product. The user can switch between displays with a single keystroke. The advantage of this software is that it provides a way of organising and displaying the users' own data so that decisions can be informed but not made for the user. The developers say that this has proved particularly useful in helping multidisciplinary teams to make rational decisions as a group. The second module of Pharma-Decision is an electronic, event-monitoring logbook. This could be used to record events such as medication errors, supplier problems or to monitor equipment performance. Once again the built-in file of drug products is available along with drop-down lists for wards/departments and types of event. Both lists can be edited by the user. An attractive feature of the software is the option to record proposals for improvement and the apparent cause of the event. This means that events can be analysed together with the comments of the staff involved at the time. A 'statistics' tab takes the user straight to the analysis options. These enable sorting by supplier, department, product or event type over specified periods of time. The developers of the software recommend that the log should be permanently accessible to everyone involved in the process in question. They also point out that the log enables managers to focus on systems and tasks rather than on people. Pharma-Decision has been designed to help pharmacy managers and clinicians to deal with complex decision tasks in a rational manner and its UK launch is timely. The structure of the software prompts an evidence-based approach to product selection which is in keeping with the current climate. The critical event log, along with the supporting information emphasise the importance of focusing on tasks and systems rather than on people and is in tune with the call for no-blame systems. Used either separately or together, the two components of Pharma-Decision could be a valuable aid to the busy hospital pharmacist or pharmaceutical adviser in a primary care organisation. Pilot projects using Pharma-Decision in the UK are now under evaluation and the results will be published as soon as possible. Pharma-Decision software will be available from Pharmacia along with training and support. The hardware/operating system requirements are a Pentium processor or equivalent, with at least 16 Mb of RAM. Pharma-Decision will occupy about 30 Mb on the hard disk and will run on Windows 95, 98, 2000 or NT. Pharmacists who are interested in using
the software on a pilot basis should contact |
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©The Pharmaceutical Journal
Pharma-Decision
is a package of decision support software that has been developed by Pharmacia
working with a group of pharmacists and clinicians. Originally developed
in France, the package has now been translated into English and modified
for the British market and the company is looking for volunteers to pilot
it.