Quality and Patient Safety in Hospital Pharmacies

Defining Quality and Patient Safety:

Consumers have a different view of what constitutes quality and safety in medical practices (Shi, L. & Singh, D., 2012). Quality in healthcare is defined as the ability to reach desired health outcomes that are consistent with professional information, according to the Institute of Medicine (Shi, L. & Singh, D., 2012). Safety is achieved by the absence of errors and the delivery of efficient care (Menachemi,N., Saunders, C., Chukmaitov, A., Matthews, M., & Brooks, R.C., 2007). Although communities define quality and security differently, both concepts are the responsibility of all participants (Longo, D., Hewitt, J.E., Ge, B., & Shubert, S., 2007).

The Importance of Quality and Safety:

The ideas of quality and safety are vital in the effort to reduce medication errors in hospital pharmacies. Joint Commission reported that 44,000 to 98,000 deaths occur annually as a result of medical errors (Longo, D., Hewitt, J.E., Ge, B., & Shubert, S., 2007). Of these flaws, sixty-seven percent (67%) can be attributed to medication inaccuracies (Kripalani, S., Roumie, C., Dalal, A., & PILL-CVD, 2012). More than half of these issues occur at the interface stage of care and continue during the discharge process (Kripalani, S., Roumie, C., Dalal, A., & PILL-CVD, 2012). On admission to the hospital, a list of the patient’s medications is analyzed and documented to increase quality throughout the consumers stay and safely provide any additional treatment needed.

Key Challenges for Pharmacies:

There are many challenges for pharmacies in dispensing medications to inpatients and upon discharge. Joint Commission noted that most pharmaceutical oversights were the results of transcriptions (Kripala...

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...LL-CVD. (2012). Effect of a pharmacist intervention on clinically important medication errors after hospital discharge: a randomized trial. AHRQ.gov, 157, 1-10. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/.

Longo, D., Hewitt, J.E., Ge, B., & Shubert, S. (2007, May/June). Hospital patient safety: characteristics of best-performing hospitals. Journal of Healthcare Management, 52(3), 188-205.

Menachemi,N., Saunders, C., Chukmaitov, A., Matthews, M., & Brooks, R.C. (2007, Nov/Dec). Hospital adoption of information technologies and improved patient safety: a study of 98 hospitals in Florida. Journal of Healthcare Management, 52(6), 398-410.

Shi, L. & Singh, D. (2012). Delivering health care in America: a system approach. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

The Joint Commission. (2006, January 25). The Joint Commission. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/.