Abdelaziz, Shahd;
Amigoni, Angela;
Kurttila, Minna;
Laaksonen, Raisa;
Silvari, Virginia;
Franklin, Bryony Dean;
(2024)
Medication safety strategies in European adult, paediatric, and neonatal intensive care units: a cross-sectional survey.
European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy
10.1136/ejhpharm-2023-004018.
(In press).
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Abstract
Objectives: Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are potentially more vulnerable to medication errors than patients admitted to general wards. However, little is known about medication safety strategies used in European ICUs. Our objectives were to explore the strategies being used and being planned within European ICUs, to identify areas of variation, and to inform recommendations to improve medication safety in this patient group. Methods: We distributed an online survey, in seven European languages, via professional networks and social media. The survey explored a range of medication safety strategies and whether they were in use (and if so, whether fully or partially implemented) or being planned. Demographic information about respondents and their ICUs was also captured. A descriptive analysis was conducted, which included exploring geographical variation. Results: We obtained 587 valid responses from 32 different countries, with 317 (54%) completed by pharmacy staff. Medication safety practices most commonly implemented were patients' allergies being visible for all staff involved in their care (fully implemented in 382 (65%) of respondents' ICUs), standardised emergency medication stored in a fixed place (337, 57%), and use of standardised medication concentrations for commonly used intravenous infusions (330, 56%). Electronic prescribing systems were fully implemented in 310 (53%). A pharmacist was reported to be fully implemented in 181 (31%) of ICUs, of which there was 126 (70%) where there was a pharmacist review of all ordered medication five days per week. Critical care pharmacists were most common in Northern European ICUs (fully implemented to ICUs in 102, 50%) and electronic prescribing in Western Europe (108, 65%). Conclusions: There is considerable variation in medication safety strategies used within European ICUs, both between and within geographical areas. Our findings may be helpful to ICU staff in identifying strategies that should be considered for implementation.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Medication safety strategies in European adult, paediatric, and neonatal intensive care units: a cross-sectional survey |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/ejhpharm-2023-004018 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ejhpharm-2023-004018 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Pharmacology & Pharmacy, Critical Care, CLINICAL PHARMACY, MEDICATION SYSTEMS, HOSPITAL, PHARMACY SERVICE, HOSPITAL, Safety, ERRORS |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Practice and Policy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10197697 |
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