Pharmacist perception and use of UpToDate®.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Wallace KL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4188058 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Pharmacist perception and use of UpToDate®.
Wallace Katie L KL Beckett Robert D RD Sheehan Amy Heck AH
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 20141001 4
A cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of 1,199 pharmacists was conducted to describe pharmacists' use and perception of UpToDate®. Of 472 (39%) respondents, 217 (46%) reported using UpToDate. Most respondents who used or had heard of UpToDate indicated willingness to change a treatment plan based on UpToDate recommendations (77%). Many believed that UpToDate is updated weekly (31%) or monthly (49%) and that all articles undergo external peer review (51%). In conclusion, the majority o ...[more]
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Project description:BackgroundIn the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, to palliate to the lockdown and cover academic programs, the faculty of medicine and pharmaceutical sciences (FMPS) of the university of Dschang (UDs) in Cameroon has implemented e-learning using WhatsApp®.AimDescribe the opinion of students and lecturers after its implementation of e-learning at the FMPS of UDs.MethodsWe designed a uniform teaching scheme using WhatsApp® during the university lockdown. Students and members of the teaching staff of the FMPS of UDs were enrolled after receiving clear information on the study implementation. At the end of the online-teaching period of two and a half months, we surveyed our students and teaching staff. Sociodemographic characteristics and opinions about e-learning were collected using a standard questionnaire.ResultsWe enrolled 229 students and 40 lecturers of the FMPS. Students reported a decremented quality of internet connection (p < 0.001, p-homogeneity < 0.001) despite an increased expenditure related to internet use. Electronic devices were broadly used before the implementation of mobile learning. The use of course materials was significantly more challenging among students because of the size/format of lecture notes and internet connection/cost (all p < 0.05). Perception of discipline compared to classroom-based lessons was not significantly different among students compared to lecturers (all p > 0.05). While lecturers were mainly more comfortable conveying the contents of their lectures, students tended to be less prone to actively participate. The motivation and satisfaction of the latter group toward e-learning were modest compared to classroom-based lectures while their feedback about the organization was positive.ConclusionsE-learning using WhatsApp® could be an effective alternative to conventional classroom-based lessons in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. The use of a blended-learning program including classroom-based sessions could help improve its limitations.
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Project description:PurposeThe objective of this study was to implement a standardized process across health systems to determine the prevalence and clinical relevance of prescribing errors intercepted by pharmacists.MethodsThis prospective, multicenter, observational study was conducted across 11 hospitals. Pharmacist-intercepted prescribing errors were collected during inpatient order verification over 6 consecutive weeks utilizing a standardized documentation process. The potential harm of each error was evaluated using a modified National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC-MERP) index with physician validation, and errors were stratified into those with potentially low, serious, or life-threatening harm. Endpoints included the median error rate per 1,000 patient days, error type, and potential harm with correlating cost avoidance.ResultsPharmacists intervened on 7,187 errors, resulting in a mean error rate of 39 errors per 1,000 patient days. Among the errors, 46.6% (n = 3,349) were determined to have potentially serious consequences and 2.4% (n = 175) could have been life-threatening if not intercepted. This equates to $874,000 in avoided cost. The top 3 error types occurring with the highest frequency were "wrong dose/rate/frequency" (n = 2,298, 32.0%), "duplicate therapy" (n = 1,431, 19.9%), and "wrong timing" (n = 960, 13.4%). "Wrong dose/rate/frequency" (n = 49, 28%), "duplicate therapy" (n = 26, 14.9%), and "drug-disease interaction" (n = 24, 13.7%) errors occurred with the highest frequency among errors with potential for life-threatening harm. "Wrong dose/rate/frequency" (n = 1,028, 30.7%), "wrong timing" (n = 573, 17.1%), and "duplicate therapy" (n = 482, 14.4%) errors occurred with the highest frequency among errors with potentially serious harm.ConclusionDocumentation of pharmacist intervention on prescribing errors via a standardized process creates a platform for multicenter analysis of prescribing error trends and an opportunity for development of system-wide solutions to reduce potential harm from prescribing errors.
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