Towards improving dose administration aid supply: a quality improvement intervention aimed at reducing dispensing errors.

BACKGROUND

There is a risk that medicines can be dispensed into dose administration aids (DAAs), inaccurately or unsuitably. Quality improvement interventions (QIIs) may target this pharmacy medicine supply service and reduce the occurrence of these dispensing errors. In turn, medicine administration can improve in nursing homes (NHs) that use these devices.

OBJECTIVE

To develop, introduce and evaluate the potential of a QII to improve DAA medicine supply.

SETTING

Fourteen Victorian community pharmacies and 45 NHs.

METHODS

A QII was developed using findings from three focus groups with 13 participants involved with DAAs at community pharmacies and NHs. The intervention was introduced to community pharmacies and NHs via a pharmacist-facilitated education session; attendees completed an evaluation questionnaire.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Potential usefulness and effectiveness of the QII at improving DAA supply and reducing dispensing errors.

RESULTS

The QII was titled: 'Be alert and work together for medicine safety, DAA incident awareness toolkit'. Four-hundred and thirty-five questionnaires were returned (85.0 % response rate). Respondents believed the intervention had the potential to improve pharmacy medicine supply or NH medicine administration involving DAAs 'very' (47.3 % of responses) or 'extremely well' (23.4 %). The intervention had the potential to reduce the occurrence of DAA dispensing errors 'very' (49.6 %) or 'extremely well' (20.5 %).

CONCLUSION

A stakeholder informed QII was perceived to have the potential to improve DAA medicine supply from community pharmacies to NHs and reduce the occurrence of dispensing errors found within them. Future quantitative evaluation of the intervention is required.