EDX/20/1154
Date of prep: December 2020
Prescribing information and
adverse events reporting
For healthcare professionals only
EDX/20/1154
Date of prep: December 2020
Prescribing information and
adverse events reporting
For healthcare professionals only
Failure to identify high-risk medication errors in patients with complex needs can have a fatal outcome, a new report warns today.
The report, published by HSIB, sets out a case where a medication error with warfarin contributed to the death of a 79-year-old man.
The patient had suffered a fall at home and had been admitted to hospital. An error on his chart whilst he was on the ward led to him receiving three or four doses of warfarin, which he did not normally take before the error was spotted by a ward-based clinical pharmacist. The patient developed internal bleeding and deteriorated (due to several health reasons) and died 21 days after his first admission.
The report highlights the growing ageing population and that pharmaceutical care of older people can be complex. They are often taking multiple medications and are at the greatest risk of harm due to medicine-related errors. In the case HSIB examined, the patient was on 12 different medications and supplements at the time of admission. By day nine of his hospital stay, this had increased to 16.
HSIB’s national investigation focused on the role of ward-based clinical pharmacy services and how they work within the multidisciplinary teams (MDT’s) that administer care to patients. Ward-based pharmacists are crucial in enhancing the team’s ability to spot errors, especially in high-risk situations. However, the investigation findings emphasised that there is variance in the way the services are staffed and organised.
They also found that other staff within the MDT’s could better understand the role pharmacists have in between admission and discharge of the patient. HSIB also found that more work needs to be done to assess the resilience of pharmacy services to operational pressures and the additional challenges associated with caring for older people.
As a result of the national investigation, HSIB has made three recommendations to facilitate a better understanding of the role of the ward-based pharmacist and to encourage best practice and resilience when identifying and developing models of pharmacy provision.
Safety recommendations as a result of this investigation include the following:
Safety observations in this case include the following:
Dr Stephen Drage, HSIB’s Director of Investigations and ICU consultant said:
“Medication errors are one of the most frequent failures of care and it can have a devastating outcome, as sadly shown by the case that launched our investigation.
“Through our investigation, it emerged that collaboration within MDT’s is key. Better understanding the role of the ward-based pharmacist and the expertise they bring can help reduce medication errors, especially in high-risk situations.
“The safety recommendations set out in the report focus on ensuring a national approach to modelling pharmacy services, giving trusts the best chance to increase their healthcare resilience. This is now more important than ever as the NHS tackles Covid-19 and the extra pressure the pandemic is putting on services.
“Medication errors are more likely to occur when patients are older or have complex needs, but they can impact any patient. Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of pharmacy services can help to reduce the risk of error and ensure consistency of care for all.”
You can read the full report here.
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