A simplistic approach to establishing drug usage/quality assurance programs

Eighty-eight percent of the hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations don't fully comply with JCAHO standards in the area of drug usage evaluation, reports JCAHO in Hospitals, August 5, 1989. Why are so many hospital pharmacies receiving contingencies from JCAHO for QA/DUE? Do we lack a clear understanding of the required features and terms, and/or are we confused on how to best implement a comprehensive program? JCAHO has a number of publications which describe not only newer QA/DUE terminology and requirements but also a nine step process to establish a comprehensive program. This article will describe and summarize both terminology and the nine step process. Integration of the nine step process into the drug distribution system allows the pharmacists to identify drug related problems on an ongoing basis. This process is not only efficient but also cost effective. The article will provide simple examples of QA/DUE programs which dovetail with existing drug distribution processes. Lastly, current JCAHO published QA/DUE scoring guidelines will be discussed. The establishment of structured ongoing QA/DUE programs can begin to collect data vital to documenting the impact of the pharmacist on patient care.