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Using hospital pharmacy technicians to check unit dose carts.

S H Spooner1, P K Emerson

  • 1St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Sioux City, IA 51104.

Hospital Pharmacy
|May 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary

Pharmacy technicians demonstrated a higher accuracy rate (99.76%) than pharmacists (98.91%) when checking unit dose carts. This finding suggests technicians can maintain medication dispensing accuracy and offer economic benefits.

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Area of Science:

  • Pharmacy practice
  • Medication dispensing accuracy
  • Healthcare economics

Background:

  • Accurate medication dispensing is crucial for patient safety.
  • Traditionally, pharmacists verify unit dose carts.
  • Evaluating alternative staffing models can optimize resource allocation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the accuracy of unit dose cart checks performed by pharmacy technicians versus pharmacists.
  • To assess the feasibility of utilizing technicians for medication dispensing verification.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative study evaluating the accuracy of unit dose cart checks.
  • Accuracy assessed on five criteria: correct drug, dose, dosage form, quantity, and expiration date.
  • Data collected from technician and pharmacist arms of the study.

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Main Results:

  • Technician arm: 7571 doses checked, 10 errors (99.76% accuracy, 1 error in 420 doses).
  • Pharmacist arm: 3116 doses checked, 34 errors (98.91% accuracy, 1 error in 92 doses).
  • Technicians exhibited a statistically higher accuracy rate than pharmacists.

Conclusions:

  • Pharmacy technicians can achieve accuracy rates comparable to or exceeding those of pharmacists in unit dose cart checks.
  • Implementing technicians in this role can maintain high medication dispensing standards.
  • Utilizing technicians offers potential economic advantages by leveraging technical rather than professional personnel.