Pediatric Emergency Department Interventions of Pharmacy Residents

We sought to assess the frequency and types of interventions performed by pharmacy residents in a pediatric emergency department (ED).

The study was conducted in an academic ED with 77,000 annual visits, of which 17% are pediatric. Six pharmacy residents completed a total of 9 two-week rotations in the pediatric ED as part of their pharmacy residency programs from February 2016 to December 2018. Pharmacy residents recorded pharmacy intervention data in real time. We quantified the number and type of interventions and time spent making the interventions.

Of 1608 pediatric patients present during the ED shifts when pharmacy residents were on service, pharmacy residents intervened on 294 patients (18.3%). A total of 400 activities and interventions were recorded. The majority (72%) of patients required 1 intervention, whereas the remaining 28% had 2 or more interventions documented. The median time spent per patient was 15 minutes (interquartile range, 10-20 minutes). Pharmacy residents were most commonly involved with medication selection and dosing.

The presence of a dedicated pharmacy team member in the pediatric area of the ED allows for a high level of involvement and interaction with other members of the health care team primarily through providing recommendations regarding medication selection, dosing, optimization, and answering drug information and medication administration questions.