Preventing Medication Errors with a “Pharmacy Admission Note” for HIV-Positive Patients

Abstract

Purpose

To describe the utility of a clinical pharmacist's evaluation of HIV-positive patients upon hospital admission.

Methods

At our Veterans Affairs Medical Center, HIV-positive patients are assigned to the Infectious Diseases (ID) team for clinical follow-up. Since March of 1999, however, general medicine staff admit HIV-positive patients to the facility. To decrease possible medication errors, communicate medication regimens, and provide continuity of care, the ID clinical pharmacist writes a “Pharmacy Admission Note” for each HIV-positive patient. A 2-year retrospective review of these notes was conducted.

Results

Fifty-one patients were admitted during the study period. The ID clinical pharmacist provided 317 recommendations (median 4.2 per patient). One hundred seventy-three recommendations were intended to avoid medication errors (55%). The most common potential errors were “medication no longer needed” (n = 65, 38%) and “decrease dose” (n = 50, 29%).

Conclusions

The use of a Pharmacy Admission Note facilitates communication with the admitting teams, provides continuity of care, and prevents medication errors.