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Incorporation of pharmacy technicians into the medication administration process in an inpatient paediatric oncology
Michelle Beirne1, Eileen Butler2, Shane Desselle3
1Children's Health Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland.
Introduction:
Healthcare workforce pressures are driving task shifting to optimize care delivery. Expanding the role of pharmacy technicians with a new service to support nurses with medication administration may reduce nursing workload while advancing pharmacy technician practice.
Aims:
The study aimed to evaluate service effectiveness in terms of nursing time saved and safety profile, alongside implementation factors using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).
Methods:
A mixed-methods study was conducted, including a descriptive analysis of activity by two pharmacy technicians, qualitative interviews, and confirmatory surveys. Effectiveness was evaluated using an observational study of patients receiving intravenous (IV) medicines within the new service and a pre/post implementation review of medication incident reports. Ten semi-structured interviews on implementation were analyzed using CFIR. An anonymous survey triangulated the interview data and allowed opinions from the wider nursing team.
Results:
Pharmacy technicians assisted with the preparation and administration of 920 of a possible 4447 IV medicines (20%), saving approximately 1 h of nursing time per day. Medication safety analysis showed increased reporting of near misses and risk issues identified before reaching patients. Qualitative themes included adaptability, training and education, positive impacts on work culture and medication safety, interprofessional relationships, and future utilization of pharmacy technicians. Survey respondents strongly supported the service: 100% (n = 22) agreed pharmacy technicians can perform the role, and 95% (n = 21) felt their involvement improved IV medication rounds.
Conclusion:
Integrating pharmacy technicians into IV medication administration is acceptable, safe, and enhances nursing capacity by freeing time for direct patient care.
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