[Retrocession, a risk area in care pathway]

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Medication errors frequently occur during care transitions.
• Hospital pharmacy dispensing to outpatients ("retrocession") is a critical, high-risk area.
• Pharmacist prescription analysis can prevent medication errors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the iatrogenic and economic risks associated with "retrocession" dispensing.
• To identify pharmaceutical interventions needed to mitigate these risks.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, monocentric study over 8 months.
• Analysis of 7166 prescriptions categorized as "first prescription", continued therapy, or renewal.
• Systematic recording of therapeutic optimization and regulatory pharmaceutical interventions.

Main Results:

• 161 pharmaceutical interventions (2.2%) were identified across all prescriptions.
• The "first prescription" category showed the highest rate of interventions (9.3%).
• Cancer drugs (36%) and anti-infectives (24%) were most frequently involved in errors during initial dispensing.

Conclusions:

• The initial "retrocession" dispensing is the riskiest step, requiring careful pharmacotherapeutic review.
• Pharmacist counseling sessions effectively reduce medication risks, particularly for new treatments in oncology.
• Implementing pharmacist counseling for all new treatment introductions is recommended to enhance patient safety.