An evaluation of clinical pharmacist service on a neurology care unit

Medications used to treat neurological diseases may result in adverse effects. Research is needed to demonstrate pharmacist value and their roles in patient care.

To categorize the types and severities of the prescribing errors intercepted and to describe clinical activities conducted by neurology ward pharmacists.

Pharmacists prospectively reviewed medication orders over an 18-month period with inventions documented and categorized.

A total of 341 prescribing errors in 1183 patients were intercepted. The most common error types were dosing frequency (35.8 %) and medication selection (21.5 %). The top five most detected error medications were those indicated for hyperhomocysteinemia (22.0 %), stress ulcer prophylaxis (12.3 %), poor circulation (10.9 %), hyperglycemia (6.5 %), and infections (5.9 %). Although 67.5 % of the detected errors having the potential causing no harm, 26.4 % of the errors may require intervention, and 6.2 % may increase the length of stay. The number of errors decreased from 19 to 10 per month during the study period. Clinical pharmacists also actively engaged in medication use evaluation, clinical decision support system optimization, and education to patients and providers.

Presence of clinical pharmacists at the neurology unit may help in early detection of prescribing errors with increased patient safety.