Implementation and Evaluation of a Technology System to Improve Safety of the Oncohematology Medication Practices

The objective of the study was to describe the process of implementing a technology system to improve safety and quality in all the processes involved in the treatment with parenteral antineoplastic agents within an interdisciplinary team and to analyze the errors detected and avoided by this system.

This is an observational and retrospective study, where the implementation of an expert technology system in all phases of the therapeutic process is described, including: prescription, validation, preparation and administration of drugs. This system integrates a qualitative and quantitative control (with an optical codes reader and a gravimetric method). All the administration process was also observed and controlled. A descriptive analysis of the errors recorded in the various stages of the process was carried out during 3 months.

There were a total of 2185 drugs prescribed and prepared, belonging to 382 patients. 14 prescription errors were recorded, representing 0.6% of admixtures. All were potential errors that the system helped to avoid and did not reach the patient. Qualitative control results: a total of 93(4.2%) incorrect code readings were detected and 16(0.7%) readings for wrong components / wrong drugs. Explaining the results of quantitative control, 95 mixtures (4.3%) were prepared incorrectly -29(1.3%) due to an overdosage, and 66(3.0%) because of an underdosage.

A new support technology was introduced to increase pharmacotherapeutic security in oncohematology, which successfully achieved the purpose in all stages of the process. In the study period, the implemented system successfully intercepted all the errors that could have reached the patient in 6.2% of the prescribed mixtures.