Problem solving: the professional responsibility of pharmacists.

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical care
• Patient safety
• Health systems research

Background:

• Patient safety risks often extend beyond direct prescription therapy.
• Pharmacists require tools to manage risks not controllable at the treatment level.
• Existing mechanisms for external assistance are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel method, the alarm model, for pharmacists to access external support.
• To enhance patient safety by addressing risks beyond the scope of prescription therapy.
• To identify and propose intervention strategies for activating support systems.

Main Methods:

• Development of the alarm model framework.
• Identification of potential change agents within healthcare systems.
• Proposal of intervention options for risk mitigation.
• Analysis of the mechanism for activating support systems.

Main Results:

• The alarm model provides a structured approach for pharmacists to seek external assistance.
• It facilitates the identification of key individuals or systems that can influence patient outcomes.
• Specific intervention strategies are outlined for effective support system activation.

Conclusions:

• The alarm model offers an innovative solution to minimize patient risk in prescription therapy.
• It empowers pharmacists to proactively manage complex patient safety issues.
• Further evaluation of the model's limitations and practical implementation is warranted.