Evaluation of the System of Dispensation of Drugs in Intrahospital Services, of a Health Unit of Riobamba

Introduction: In Ecuador, many health institutions have not yet migrated to the Unit Dose Dispensation / Distribution System for Medications, which ensures the correct, safe and rational use of medications. Objective: The medication dispensing process in a Riobamba health unit was evaluated as part of the service quality improvement process. Methodology: Information was collected during three months of investigation, from the in-hospital services of hospitalization, intensive care unit, operating room and emergency. The instruments used for the evaluation corresponded to medical prescriptions, medication and medical device request sheets, medication return record sheets and labeling of boxes. Results: In the medical prescriptions as in the record sheets for the return of evaluated drugs, the main drawback was presented in the writing of the pharmaceutical form and the absence of mandatory data for the identification of the patient. In the total of the registers for the return of medications, the absence of the reason for the return of the medications was identified. The medication dispensing process was considered a critical point within the evaluation, since throughout the review period it was observed that the boxes did not have the minimum required labeling, for the correct identification of the patient. Conclusion: It was concluded that the dispensing system presented critical flaws, such as: deficiencies in the supply of medications, dispensing errors, lack of pharmacotherapeutic follow-up and little participation of the pharmaceutical professional. Keywords: dispensing, medication, medication error. Resumen Introducción: En Ecuador, muchas instituciones de salud aún no migran al Sistema de Dispensación/Distribución de Medicamentos por Dosis Unitaria, el cual asegura la correcta, segura y racional utilización de los medicamentos. Objetivo: Se evaluó el proceso de dispensación de medicamentos en una unidad de salud de Riobamba, como parte del proceso de mejoramiento en la calidad del servicio. Metodología: Se recolectó información durante tres meses de investigación, de los servicios de intrahospitalarios de hospitalización, unidad de cuidados intensivos, quirófano y emergencia. Los instrumentos utilizados para la evaluación correspondieron a recetas médicas, hojas de requerimiento de medicamentos y dispositivos médicos, hojas de registro de devolución de medicación y rotulación de cajetines. Resultados: En las recetas médicas como en las hojas de registro de devolución de medicamentos evaluadas, el principal inconveniente se presentó en la escritura de la forma farmacéutica y la ausencia de datos obligatorios para identificación del paciente. En el total de los registros de devolución de medicamentos, se identificó la inexistencia del motivo de la devolución de los medicamentos. El proceso de dispensación de medicación, se consideró un punto crítico dentro de la evaluación, ya que durante todo el período de revisión se observó que los cajetines no contaban con la rotulación mínima requerida, para la identificación correcta del paciente. Conclusión: Se concluyó que el sistema de dispensación presentaba fallas críticas, tales como: deficiencias en el suministro de medicamentos, errores de dispensación, falta de seguimiento farmacoterapéutico y la poca participación del profesional farmacéutico. Palabras clave: dispensación, medicamentos, error de medicación.

Factors Affecting Medication Dispensing and Counselling Practices in Hospital Pharmacy Settings in Northwest Nigeria

Background: Medication dispensing and counselling are routine but very important activities carried out by pharmacists in a wide variety of healthcare settings. While these processes are often overlooked when issues around the rational use of medication are being considered, any mistake(s) in one or both processes can seriously undermine patient care.Objective: To assess selected factors, and identify problems affecting medication dispensing and counselling in outpatient hospital pharmacies in northwest Nigeria.Methods: Mixed methods were used to collect data from 19 outpatient pharmacies in eight public hospitals located in Kaduna and Kano states from November 2019 to March 2020. Quantitative data was generated from a survey, while qualitative data was collected from key-informant interviews with heads of the pharmacies. Data collected from the survey were analyzed to generate descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages), while interview data were transcribed and analyzed using thematic/content analysis.Results: Only two pharmacies (10.5%) had dispensing standard operating procedures, and only one (5.2%) had a completely private counselling area. Pharmacy technicians were present in most of the pharmacies (84.2%), and students were widely involved in medication dispensing and counselling activities (73.7%). Identified problems from the interviews included issues with prescribers and medication availability, inadequate staffing levels and absence of materials and/equipment required for dispensing and counselling.Conclusion: There is an urgent need for multi-faceted interventions to improve on several of these findings and enhance the quality of care provided to patients.

COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Medication Dispensing and the use of Health Services in Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Aims: March 2020, WHO revealed that COVID-19 was a pandemic. Coughing, sneezing, close contact with infected individuals speeds up the disease spread. Saudi Arabia's government and the Ministry of Health sought to spread social awareness of the importance of quarantine and restriction, but unprecedented challenges and obstacles emerged. Therefore, in this study, the effect of COVID-19 on the dispensing of medication and the use of health care services evaluated. Study design: This survey, cross-sectional, was performed in Makkah city individuals. Place and Duration of Study: This survey was run out in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia for seven days, starting from June 15, 2020, to June 22, 2020. Methodology: Survey of 112 applicants (33 men, 79 women; age range 16-56+ years) had been performed to explore COVID-19 impact on medication dispensing and the use of health care services regarding sociodemographic data in Makkah city residents, Saudi Arabia. Results: This study demonstrated that most of the survey respondents coped well with COVID-19 changes. A significant correlation was found between coping with COVID-19 changes and the age of participants (F(df) = 7.846 (4,107), P-value 0.006) and (F(df) = 4.025 (4,107), P-value 0.047), respectively. Of all the participants, 68.75% had been able to dispense a prescription medication during COVID-19 restrictions. Among them, 30.36, 21.43, and 16.96% dispensed a prescription once, twice, and more than three times, respectively. The data showed that 67.86% of the participants successfully purchased medication from a community pharmacy during COVID-19 restrictions. There was no change in medication availability or price, at about 61.61% and 76.79%, respectively. A significant correlation between medication availability-price (F(df) = 4.025(3,105), P-value 0.047) was found. During COVID-19 restrictions, 51.79% of the respondents were able to access health care services such as hospitals that provide health checking, or substance use for disease treatment. Interestingly, 25% of the participants had the same accessibility to health care services. Conclusion: This research revealed that through the COVID-19 pandemic, the dispensing, availability, and price changes of medication and the use of health care services were running in a good manner. This would show that although there were restrictions due to COVID-19, access to medication or health care services was running smoothly.

Estimation of Medication Dispensing Errors (MDEs) as Tracked by Passive RFID-Based Solution

Errors from dispensing medicines, as part of medication errors, can have deadly consequences. Notwithstanding the occasional incidental reports, the impact of such errors remains significant given the high amount of medicines distributed daily. Here, the authors case studied the medication dispensing errors and the resulting impact on patient safety vis-à-vis a medico-surgical emergency department of a local university hospital center. The approach comprises two parts: first, an estimation of medication dispensing error rates; and second, a suggested passive radio frequency identification based solution aimed to reduce such incidents. The benefits of the adapted novel solution relative to the commonly used systems will be highlighted. They conclude with an overview of the study results and provides insights on how attending to this key challenge of medication dispensing errors will further enhance future health informatics practices and research.