American journal of health-system pharmacy : AJHP : official journal of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
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Am J Health Syst Pharm · Aug 2009
ReviewEffect of clinical pharmacists on care in the emergency department: a systematic review.
A systematic literature review was conducted to ascertain the scope of involvement of clinical pharmacists in the emergency department (ED); summarize economic, humanistic, and clinical outcomes data; describe current limitations of these data; and identify areas for future research. ⋯ A review of the literature revealed that pharmacists have been involved in the ED for decades. Services provided by pharmacists in the ED included traditional clinical pharmacy services, responding to medical emergencies, providing consultations on medication issues, identifying and reducing medication errors, and conducting medication histories at hospital admission. Some services were shown to be cost saving or cost avoiding.
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Am J Health Syst Pharm · Jul 2009
Review Comparative StudyComparative effectiveness research: Relevance and applications to pharmacy.
An overview of the emerging field of comparative effectiveness research (CER) and its relevance to pharmacists and pharmacy-based decision-makers is provided. ⋯ Comparative effectiveness is an emerging area of research relevant to many areas of health care, especially pharmacotherapy. The knowledge gained from CER is important to pharmacists when applying drug information and making decisions related to drug therapy.
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Am J Health Syst Pharm · Jul 2009
Telepharmacy and bar-code technology in an i.v. chemotherapy admixture area.
A program using telepharmacy and bar-code technology to increase the presence of the pharmacist at a critical risk point during chemotherapy preparation is described. ⋯ Telepharmacy and bar coding provide a means to improve the accuracy of chemotherapy preparation by decreasing the likelihood of using the incorrect product or quantity of drug. The system facilitates the reading of small product labels and removes the need for a pharmacist to handle contaminated syringes and vials when checking the final product.
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Am J Health Syst Pharm · Jul 2009
Effect of bar-code-assisted medication administration on medication administration errors and accuracy in multiple patient care areas.
The effect of a commercially available bar-code-assisted medication administration (BCMA) technology on six indicators of medication administration accuracy and nine types of medication administration errors in distinct patient care areas were studied. ⋯ Implementing BCMA technology decreased medication administration errors in medical-surgical units but not in ICUs when time errors were excluded. BCMA technology affected different types of medication administration errors in different patient care areas.
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Am J Health Syst Pharm · Jun 2009
Guidelines and quality for community-acquired pneumonia: measures from the Joint Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The rationales for and recent updates on quality measures for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are reviewed. ⋯ The Joint Commission, CMS, and IDSA guidelines for the management of patients with CAP address basic aspects of preventive care and treatment for CAP. The guidelines emphasize the importance of vaccination as well as the need for appropriate and timely antimicrobial therapy. Adherence to guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, and compliance is being enforced by public reporting and pay-per-performance measures.