Aust Prescr
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Medication charting and prescribing errors commonly occur at hospital admission and discharge. Pharmacist medication reconciliation, after medicines are ordered by a medical officer, can identify and resolve errors, but this often occurs after the errors have reached the patient. Partnered pharmacist medication charting and prescribing are interprofessional, collaborative models that are designed to prevent medication errors before they occur, by involving pharmacists directly in charting and prescribing processes. ⋯ Studies conducted at multiple Australian health services, including rural and regional hospitals, have shown that partnered charting on admission, and partnered prescribing at discharge, significantly reduces the number of medication errors and shortens patients' length of stay in hospital. Junior medical officers report benefiting from enhanced interprofessional learning and reduced workload. Partnered pharmacist medication charting and prescribing models have the best prospect of success in environments with a strong culture of interprofessional collaboration and clinical governance, and a sufficiently resourced clinical pharmacist workforce.
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Obstructive sleep apnoea is the most common form of sleep-disordered breathing. It is characterised by recurrent occlusion of the airway during sleep. Ensuing apnoeas terminate in arousal from sleep and lead to non-restorative sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness and adverse cardiovascular and neurocognitive effects. ⋯ Positive airway pressure is the most effective treatment option, although intolerance and non-adherence are common. Other options include positional therapy, oral appliances and upper airway surgery. Weight loss and optimisation of cardiovascular disease risk should be considered in selected patients.