OBJECTIVE: Several drug-drug interaction (DDI) checkers such as DDI-Predictor have been developed to detect and grade DDIs. DDI-Predictor gives an estimate of the magnitude of an interaction based on the ratio of areas under the curve. The objective of the present study was to analyse the frequencies of DDIs involving well-known strong interactors such as rifampicin and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), as reported by a clinical pharmacy team using DDI-Predictor, and the pharmacist intervention acceptance rate.
METHODS: The pharmacist intervention rate and the physician acceptance rate were calculated for DDIs involving rifampicin or the SSRIs fluoxetine, paroxetine, duloxetine and sertraline. The rates were compared with a bilateral χ2 test or Fisher\'s exact test.
RESULTS: Of the 284 DDIs recorded, 38 (13.4%) involved rifampicin and 78 (27.5%) involved SSRIs. The pharmacist intervention rate differed significantly (68.4% for rifampicin vs 48.8% for SSRIs; p=0.045) but the physician acceptance rate did not (84.6% for rifampicin vs 81.6% for SSRIs; p=1). Pharmaceutical interventions for SSRIs were more frequent when the ratio of the area under the drug concentration versus time curve in DDI-Predictor was >2. Pharmacists were more likely to issue a pharmacist intervention for DDIs involving rifampicin because of a high perceived risk of treatment failure and were less likely to issue a pharmacist intervention for DDIs involving an SSRI, except when the suspected interaction was strong.
CONCLUSIONS: DDI checkers can help pharmacists to manage DDIs involving strong interactors. DDIs involving strong inhibitors versus a strong inducer differ with regard to their intervention and acceptance rates, notably due to the estimation of the magnitude of the DDI.

OBJECTIVE: Pharmaceutical interventions are proposals made by hospital clinical pharmacists to address sub-optimal uses of medications during prescription review. Pharmaceutical interventions include the identification of drug-related problems, their prevention and resolution. The objective of this study was to exploit a newly developed deep neural network classifier to identify drug-related problems from pharmaceutical interventions and perform a large retrospective descriptive analysis of them in a French university hospital over a 3-year period.
METHODS: Data were collected from prescription support software from 2018 to 2020. A classifier running in Python 3.8 and using Keras library was then used to automatically categorise drug-related problems from pharmaceutical interventions according to the coding of the French Society of Clinical Pharmacy.
RESULTS: 2 930 656 prescription lines were analysed for a total of 119 689 patients. Among these prescription lines, 153 335 (5.2%) resulted in pharmaceutical interventions (n=48 202 patients; 40.2%). Pharmaceutical interventions were predominantly observed in patients aged 65 years or older (n=26 141 patients out of 53 186; 49.1%) and in patients taking five or more medications (44 702 patients out of 93 419; 47.8%). The most frequently identified types of drug-related problems associated with pharmaceutical interventions were \'Non-conformity to guidelines or contra-indication\' (n=88 523; 57.7%), \'Overdosage\' (16 975; 11.1%) and \'Improper administration\' (13 898; 9.1%). The most frequently encountered drugs were: paracetamol (n=10 585; 6.9%), esomeprazole (6031; 3.9%), hydrochlorothiazide (2951; 1.9%), enoxaparin (2191; 1.4%), tramadol (1879; 1.2%), calcium (2073; 1.3%), perindopril (1950; 1.2%), amlodipine (1716; 1.1%), simvastatin (1560; 1.0%) and insulin (1019; 0.7%).
CONCLUSIONS: The deep neural network classifier used met the challenge of automatically classifying drug-related problems from pharmaceutical interventions from a large database without mobilising significant human resources. The use of such a classifier can lead to alerting caregivers about certain risky practices in prescription and administration, and triggering actions to improve patients\' therapeutic outcomes.

Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA) is a proven process for maintaining patient safety during medication administration. However, maintaining compliance with BCMA scanning in the Emergency Department has its challenges. To overcome these challenges handheld devices, enabled with scanning technology, were provided to each nurse. BCMA compliance rates increased by 20% over a 6-month period. Handheld devices work to improve BCMA compliance in the ED environment when using a 1:1 model.

OBJECTIVE: In the Danish healthcare system, restructuring is an ongoing process to accommodate the rising number of patients and to optimise resource allocation. To ease departmental burdens at hospitals in the North Denmark Region, outpatients are empowered to collect their cost-free medicines from medication pick-up lockers. The lockers function similarly to a package box, thereby enhancing patient freedom. Due to lack of evidence within the published literature regarding cost-free medicines and medicine waste, the aim of our study was to identify the common medications delivered to medicine pick-up lockers and secondly, to evaluate potential medicine waste.
METHODS: Data from ApoVision provided insights into medications delivered to medicine pick-up lockers from March to October 2023 in the North Denmark Region. To estimate unused medicines we obtained data on the number of medications returned from medicine pick-up lockers.
RESULTS: From 2020 to 2023, the number of patients receiving cost-free medicines at medication pick-up lockers increased. In total, approximately 30 000 packages of medicine were delivered to medicine pick-up lockers from March to October 2023 in the North Denmark Region; 1.7% were returned. Methotrexate, adalimumab, and omalizumab were among the most common deliveries and were also the three most returned from the medicine pick-up lockers.
CONCLUSIONS: This study is an initial attempt to investigate potential medicine waste in cost-free medicines dispensed to outpatients via pick-up lockers. Antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents were the most common medicines delivered to medication pick-up lockers in the North Denmark Region from March to October 2023. In this period, approximately 2% of all delivered medicine packages were returned to the hospital pharmacy. Our analysis solely focuses on waste associated with medications left uncollected from medicine pick-up lockers. Addressing the impact of medicine waste in a hospital setting requires a comprehensive approach, thus future studies should also focus on other sites relevant for medication waste as, for example, the patient\'s household.

OBJECTIVE: To establish a clinical application monitoring system for proton pump inhibitors (PPI-MS) and to enhance the detection and intervention of inappropriate PPI use in adult hospitalised patients.
METHODS: Natural language processing technology was applied to indication recognition of therapeutic PPI applications and the assessment of admission record recognition for preventive PPI applications. Symptom judgement was based on the tense-negation model and regular expressions. Evidence-based rules for clinical PPI application were embedded for the construction of PPI-MS. A total of 9421 patient records using PPI from July 2022 to July 2023 were analysed to validate the performance of the system and to identify common issues related to inappropriate clinical PPI use.
RESULTS: Out of 9421 hospitalised patients detected using PPI, 4736 (50.27%) were used for prophylaxis and the rest for therapeutic use. Among the prophylactic medications, 2274 patients (48.02%) were identified as receiving inappropriate prophylactic PPI. The main reasons were inappropriate prophylaxis without indication. Additionally, 258 cases of inappropriate therapeutic PPI use were identified, mainly involving the use of esomeprazole for peptic ulcers and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. The efficiency of the PPI rational medication monitoring system, when coupled with human involvement, was 32 times that of manual monitoring. Among cases of inappropriate prophylactic PPI use, 45.29% were due to lack of indications, 28.34% involved inappropriate administration routes, 15.74% were related to inappropriate dosing frequencies and 10.62% were attributed to inappropriate drug selection. There were 933 cases related to the use of antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs and 708 cases related to the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The overall accuracy of the PPI-MS system was 88.69%, with a recall rate of 99.33%, and the F1 score was 93.71%.
CONCLUSIONS: Establishing a PPI medication monitoring system through natural language processing technology, while ensuring accuracy and recall rates, improves evaluation efficiency and homogeneity. This provides a new solution for timely detection of issues relating to clinical PPI usage.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and promote hospital pharmacy initiatives to improve the management of patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE) within the Spanish healthcare system.
METHODS: A panel of experts comprising hospital pharmacists, an allergist and a nurse/member of the Spanish Hereditary Angioedema Association (Asociación Española de Angioedema Familiar) highlighted initiatives to improve care for patients with HAE after identifying, evaluating and prioritising them. Prioritisation was assessed based on the impact on patient care and the feasibility of their implementation on a scale of 1-5.
RESULTS: Seven key areas of activity for the role of hospital pharmacists in the management of patients with HAE were identified: evaluation and selection of medicines; hospital pharmacy dispensation and telepharmacy; pharmacotherapy follow-up and telemedicine; coordination with other healthcare teams involved in the care of patients with HAE; patient health education and training; research on HAE; and continuous education and training of hospital pharmacy service personnel. Ten initiatives with a mean impact score of 5 and a mean feasibility score of ≥4.1 were considered as high-priority initiatives. Half of the initiatives belong to the area concerning patient education and training (50%), followed by care coordination initiatives (30%) and continuous education and training (20%).
CONCLUSIONS: Ten high-priority initiatives for the management of patients with HAE were identified by a panel of experts. The implementation of such initiatives by the hospital pharmacy service should enhance the management of patients with HAE in the Spanish healthcare system.

OBJECTIVE: Patients in intensive care units (ICUs) are potentially more vulnerable to medication errors than patients admitted to general wards. However, little is known about medication safety strategies used in European ICUs. Our objectives were to explore the strategies being used and being planned within European ICUs, to identify areas of variation, and to inform recommendations to improve medication safety in this patient group.
METHODS: We distributed an online survey, in seven European languages, via professional networks and social media. The survey explored a range of medication safety strategies and whether they were in use (and if so, whether fully or partially implemented) or being planned. Demographic information about respondents and their ICUs was also captured. A descriptive analysis was conducted, which included exploring geographical variation.
RESULTS: We obtained 587 valid responses from 32 different countries, with 317 (54%) completed by pharmacy staff. Medication safety practices most commonly implemented were patients\' allergies being visible for all staff involved in their care (fully implemented in 382 (65%) of respondents\' ICUs), standardised emergency medication stored in a fixed place (337, 57%), and use of standardised medication concentrations for commonly used intravenous infusions (330, 56%). Electronic prescribing systems were fully implemented in 310 (53%). A pharmacist was reported to be fully implemented in 181 (31%) of ICUs, of which there was 126 (70%) where there was a pharmacist review of all ordered medication five days per week. Critical care pharmacists were most common in Northern European ICUs (fully implemented to ICUs in 102, 50%) and electronic prescribing in Western Europe (108, 65%).
CONCLUSIONS: There is considerable variation in medication safety strategies used within European ICUs, both between and within geographical areas. Our findings may be helpful to ICU staff in identifying strategies that should be considered for implementation.

OBJECTIVE: Results of the 2023 ASHP National Survey of Pharmacy Practice in Hospital Settings are presented.
METHODS: Pharmacy directors at 1,497 general and children\'s medical-surgical hospitals in the United States were surveyed using a mixed-mode method of contact by email and mail. Survey completion was online using Qualtrics. IQVIA supplied data on hospital characteristics; the survey sample was drawn from IQVIA\'s hospital database.
RESULTS: The response rate was 21.6%. Inpatient pharmacists independently prescribe medications in 26.7% of hospitals. Advanced analytics are used in 5.7% of hospitals. Basic analytics are used in 87.3% of hospitals. Pharmacists work in ambulatory or primary care clinics in 54.2% of hospitals operating outpatient clinics. Most hospitals (86.1%) use automated dispensing cabinets as the primary method of maintenance dose distribution. Machine-readable coding is used in 73.6% of hospitals to verify doses during dispensing in the pharmacy. Autoverification functionality in the electronic health record system is used in 73.4% of hospitals. Most hospitals report some integration of pharmacy services to optimize patient care transitions (60.0%), while 24.9% report no integration. Traditional technician activities still predominate, but more advanced roles are emerging. Technologies to assist sterile product preparation are used in 62.8% of hospitals.
CONCLUSIONS: Drug distribution continues to trend toward decentralized models with medications available closer to patients. Technologies are enabling this transition to occur without a significant negative impact on patient safety. The pharmacy workforce is stable, and more advanced responsibilities are being assigned to pharmacy technicians, enabling pharmacists to increase their clinical role.

BACKGROUND: With a global annual carbon footprint of the healthcare sector of 2 gigatons of CO2e, healthcare systems must contribute to the fight against climate change. Hospital pharmacists could be key players in ecological transition due to their role in managing healthcare products. The aim of this study was to summarise the evidence on interventions implemented in healthcare facilities involving pharmacists to improve the environmental footprint of healthcare.
METHODS: This systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The Medline, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases were searched for studies published between 2013 and 2023. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to include hospital pharmacists and present contributions aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of healthcare in healthcare facilities. Outcomes were the description of the contribution, the methods used and the stages of healthcare product lifecycle analysed. A Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess the risk of bias for each study.
RESULTS: Seventeen studies were included. Pharmacists played a leading role in 15 (88%) and had a supporting role in the others. The healthcare products targeted were medicines (59%), medical devices (12%) or both (29%). The stages of the healthcare product cycle addressed by the contributions were elimination (71%), dispensing (35%), procurement and supply (35%), production (29%), and prescription (24%). Only two studies used life cycle assessment and only one assessed all three pillars of sustainability. Two studies had good methodological quality while the rest had at least one element of uncertainty.
CONCLUSIONS: This review confirms the central role of the pharmacist and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in implementing eco-responsible actions. It could be useful to hospitals and other teams wanting to improve sustainable actions and it emphasises the importance of collaborating with pharmacists when planning sustainable initiatives. Future eco-responsible initiatives must use robust reproducible methods.
BACKGROUND: PROSPERO #CRD42023406835.

OBJECTIVE: Medication errors (MEs) are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the healthcare system. Patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) are potentially more susceptible to MEs due to severity of illness, the complexity of treatments they receive and the challenging nature of the ICU setting. The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists established a Special Interest Group (SIG) to undertake a programme of work to develop and prioritise recommendations to support medication safety improvement in ICUs across Europe.
METHODS: Initial policy recommendations for medication safety within the ICU environment were developed following reviews of the literature and engagement with relevant stakeholders. A Delphi panel of 21 members of the SIG, that comprised healthcare professionals (HCPs) with expertise in ICU and/or medication safety, was convened in 2022. We conducted two rounds using a modified Delphi technique whereby participants anonymously ranked on a 9-point Likert Scale the policy recommendations according to their priority for implementation.
RESULTS: In total, 32 policy recommendations were developed. In Delphi Round 1, 19 HCPs participated; consensus was achieved on most recommendations and partial consensus on six. In Delphi Round 2, 18 HCPs participated. After two Delphi rounds, consensus was achieved on all 32 recommendations. All recommendations were considered \'high priority\' except one that was considered \'medium priority\'.
CONCLUSIONS: Through this study it was possible to develop and prioritise evidence-based policy recommendations to enhance medication safety, which may contribute to reducing MEs in ICUs across Europe. All recommendations were considered \'high priority\' for implementation except one, indicating the perceived value of these recommendations in improving medication safety through preventing MEs in ICUs.