High Prescription Volume Pharmacies.
#133113103,
Topic:
High prescription volume pharmacies
Type of paper:
Coursework
Discipline:
Health Care and Life Sciences : Nursing
Format or citation style:
APA
Pages: 1
Deadline; 10hrs
Editing and rewriting
Instructions: Here is an interesting case study (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. demonstrating how the system that supposedly has safeguards in place to prevent errors can break down at every point, resulting in dangerous harms to patients (the “swiss cheese effect”).
Answer a few poignant questions that came from this article for the discussion topic:
• High prescription volume pharmacies have devised ways to increase speed, including allowing patients to bypass counseling (insertion of written material and signing that additional counseling is not desired) which has removed the direct pharmacist–patient interaction. The pharmacist is one of the last lines of defense in medication profile safety.
• Do high volume pharmacies and cessation of counseling threaten patient safety?
• Have prescribers created a culture and atmosphere of being unavailable and resistant to pharmacy input regarding prescriptions?
• Do physicians avoid consulting with pharmacists because of a culture where weaknesses are hidden?
• Do physicians indirectly or inadvertently act as if they are superior to pharmacists?
• Is this potential dynamic affecting patient care?
1) Utilizing at least 3 research articles no older than 5 years old.
Instructions: Here is an interesting case study (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. demonstrating how the system that supposedly has safeguards in place to prevent errors can break down at every point, resulting in dangerous harms to patients (the “swiss cheese effect”).
Answer a few poignant questions that came from this article for the discussion topic:
- High prescription volume pharmacies have devised ways to increase speed, including allowing patients to bypass counseling (insertion of written material and signing that additional counseling is not desired) which has removed the direct pharmacist–patient interaction. The pharmacist is one of the last lines of defense in medication profile safety.
- Do high volume pharmacies and cessation of counseling threaten patient safety?
- Have prescribers created a culture and atmosphere of being unavailable and resistant to pharmacy input regarding prescriptions?
- Do physicians avoid consulting with pharmacists because of a culture where weaknesses are hidden?
- Do physicians indirectly or inadvertently act as if they are superior to pharmacists?
- Is this potential dynamic affecting patient care?
- Utilizing at least 3 research articles no older than 5 years old.
High Prescription Volume Pharmacies
Student’s Name
Institutional Name
High Prescription Volume Pharmacies
A study conducted by Smith et al. (2015) established that the involvement of the pharmacy department in the medication reconciliation process enhances accuracy and patient safety across all phases. Learning from the study, improved patient safety is achieved through an enhanced flow of information from caregivers and patients, enhanced medication access, coordination of care transitions and evaluation of medical appropriateness. Therefore, when high volume pharmacies and counseling cessation are involved, then patients are deprived of these critical services which threaten their safety.
Pharmacists are pivotal in the prescription determination given their specialized training and expertise. Some physicians are unwelcoming to the input from pharmacists in the prescription determination but others are open. There exist bias and apprehensions regarding their inclusion. In a study conducted by Loffler et al. (2017), pharmacists indicated negative experiences they had after working with physicians which imply the existing negative culture and treatment by physicians. However, some prescribers encourage cross checks but not an initial determination.
Theoretically, the cooperation of physician and pharmacists presents better chances of giving the most appropriate prescription. In a study conducted by Murshid, Mohaidin, and Nee (2016), they established that most scholars had found direct evidence on the influence of physicians-pharmacists collaboration on the prescription decision which enhanced patient wellness. With this in mind, many physicians might shy away from consultations so as not to feel inferior or not knowledgeable enough despite the available better-specialized pharmacists.
Physician act superior to pharmacists indirectly or inadvertently. They are involved in medical diagnosis and other processes leading to prescription issuance. On the other hand, the pharmacists are majorly involved with drug prescriptions and general health issues. Therefore, the deep involvement of the physicians with the patients might instill superiority given than even the prescriptions they give might be similar to those issued by the pharmacists.
The inadequate inter-professional collaboration between physicians and pharmacists is affecting patient care negatively. The collaborative efforts and combined expertise by the two entities are beneficial to the patients. Recently, some physicians have recognized the efforts of the pharmacists in addressing chronic conditions and opted for consultation from the pharmacists (Loffler et al., 2017). It is a step in the right direction and it should be encouraged.
References
Loffler, C., Koudmani, C., Böhmer, F., Paschka, S. D., Höck, J., Drewelow, E., … & Altiner, A. (2017). Perceptions of interprofessional collaboration of general practitioners and community pharmacists-a qualitative study. BMC health services research, 17(1), 224.
Murshid, M. A., Mohaidin, Z., & Nee, G. Y. (2016). Influence of pharmacists expertise on physicians prescription decisions. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 15(7), 1549-1557.
Smith, L., Mosley, J., Lott, S., Cyr, E., Amin, R., Everton, E., Islami, A., Phan, L., … Komolafe, O. (2015). Impact of pharmacy-led medication reconciliation on medication errors during transition in the hospital setting. Pharmacy practice, 13(4), 634.