Qual Saf Health Care
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Qual Saf Health Care · Feb 2006
Review Meta AnalysisInterventions in primary care to reduce medication related adverse events and hospital admissions: systematic review and meta-analysis.
To identify and evaluate studies of interventions in primary care aimed at reducing medication related adverse events that result in morbidity, hospital admission, and/or mortality. ⋯ There is relatively weak evidence to indicate that pharmacist-led medication reviews are effective in reducing hospital admissions. There is currently no evidence for the effectiveness of other interventions which aim at reducing admissions or preventable drug related morbidity. More randomised controlled trials of primary care based pharmacist-led interventions are needed to decide whether or not this intervention is effective in reducing hospital admissions.
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Qual Saf Health Care · Feb 2006
Quality improvement of oral medication administration in patients with enteral feeding tubes.
The correct administration of oral drugs to patients on enteral tube feeding presents a special challenge. As patients are usually unable to swallow oral drugs and many drugs should not be crushed, ways have to be found to administer them through the feeding tube. Measures to improve the quality of oral drug administration in patients with enteral feeding tubes may consist of introducing guidelines, training nurses, or giving patient-tailored advice by the pharmacy. An integrated program comprising all these measures is likely to result in the greatest improvements. ⋯ This multidisciplinary program comprising several interventions to promote the correct administration of drugs through an enteral feeding tube results in substantial improvements. As errors concerning administration of drugs to patients with enteral feeding tubes may lead to adverse drug events and loss of effect, these improvements are likely to contribute to a decrease in patient morbidity.