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Program to remove incorrect allergy documentation in pediatrics medical records
M C Bouwmeester1, N Laberge, J F Bussières
1Department of Pharmacy, Hôpital Sainte-Justine (HSJ), University of Montreal (UM), Montreal, Canada.
Insights
Pharmacists identified and helped remove many incorrect drug allergy reports in a pediatric hospital. This intervention improved patient record accuracy, ensuring safer medication management for children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Clinical Pharmacy
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Incorrectly documented drug allergies are common in pediatric patient records.
- Inaccurate allergy information can lead to unnecessary avoidance of crucial medications and potential patient harm.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of incorrectly reported drug allergies in a pediatric hospital.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of pharmacist-led interventions in correcting these allergy reports.
Main Methods:
- A prospective study assessed drug allergies in pediatric patients (< or = 18 years).
- Pharmacists classified reported allergies as true, undetermined, or incorrectly reported based on defined criteria.
- Interventions involved removing incorrect allergies with physician consent and notifying community pharmacists.
Main Results:
- Of 248 challenged drug allergies, 31% were found to be incorrectly reported.
- Pharmacists successfully removed 93% of incorrectly reported allergies from patient charts.
- Follow-up confirmed removal of incorrect documentation from 23 community pharmacy records.
Conclusions:
- Pharmacist interventions are effective in identifying and rectifying inaccurate drug allergy documentation in pediatric settings.
- Accurate allergy records are crucial for safe and effective medication management in children.
- Systematic review and pharmacist involvement can significantly enhance patient safety by correcting medical record errors.
Abstract:
The incidence of incorrectly reported drug allergies in a pediatrics hospital and the effectiveness of pharmacist interventions to clarify these reports were studied. A four-month prospective study included children (< or = 18 years of age) with at least one drug allergy reported in their medical chart. Drug allergies were assessed by a pharmacist who labeled the reactions as true, incorrectly reported, or undetermined allergies, in accordance with defined criteria. When an incorrectly reported allergy was removed from a patient's chart with the consent of the attending physician, the intervention was reported to the community pharmacist. A total of 186 of 248 drug allergies identified in 1591 patient charts were challenged. Of these, 26 (14%), 103 (55%), and 57 (31%) were considered true, undetermined, and incorrectly reported drug allergies, respectively, by the pharmacist. A total of 53 (93%) incorrectly reported allergies were removed from patients' charts with the consent of the attending physicians. Community pharmacists were contacted in 25 of these cases. At follow-up, the incorrect allergy documentation was found to have been removed from 23 community pharmacy charts. A pharmacist found numerous incorrectly reported allergies in a pediatrics hospital and assisted in removing them from patients' medical charts.