One Year Evaluation of Pharmacist Medication Charting Service in a Principal Referral Women and Newborn Hospital.

Background: Accuracy of medication charts on admission to hospital has previously shown that inadvertent omission of therapy was the most common discrepancy, accounting for 40% to 60% of errors. Partnered Pharmacist Medication Charting (PPMC) has shown to reduce medicationrelated problems. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the implementation of Pharmacist Medication Charting (PMC), a derivative of PPMC, in a maternity and gynecological hospital. The occurrence of medication omission identified by the pharmacists was assessed and the pharmacist interventions involving PMC analyzed. Methods: The pharmacist interventions documented from 1st July 2022 to 30th June, 2023 were evaluated using PowerBI for data and trends on the Medication-Related Problems (MRPs) identified, occurrence of PMC, common medications charted by the pharmacists and the pharmacist recommendation and action following the identification of MRPs. Results: A total of 4898 pharmacy interventions was documented in the 12-month period. Of the total interventions documented, 1321 (26.97%) were related to pharmacist medication charting. Of all the interventions related to PMC, 53.29% involved pharmacists charting medications for the continuation or initiation of over-the-counter medications, 13.32% involved pharmacist partnered charting of Prescription Only Medications and Controlled Medications with medical staff, and 33.3% were referred to a credentialled pharmacist for PMC service. With regards to action taken following interventions involving PMC, 1065 (80.62%) were resolved following PMC. Common medications charted by the pharmacists include: macrogol and docusate laxatives (288), pregnancy multivitamin containing iron, iodine and folate (169), colecalciferol (133), iron (127), asthma inhaler (99), paracetamol and ibuprofen (88), nicotine (38), calcium (29), folic acid (26), and pantoprazole (15). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that hospital pharmacists contribute to the reduction of MRPs, and PMC enables pharmacist to address prescribing omission and conditions untreated in the hospital. This study also reflects skills enhancement in practice for clinical pharmacists and resulted in successful implementation of PMC.

The Patterns of Antipsychotic Use for Pregnant Women Over a 16-year Timeframe in an Australian Principal Referral and Specialist Women and Newborn Hospital.

The purpose of the study is to analyse the patterns of antipsychotic use for pregnant women in an Australian Principal Referral and Specialist Women and Newborn Hospital. This retrospective, observational study involved an analysis of dispensing data of antipsychotics from 1998 to 2014 extracted from the pharmacy dispensing systems. The study included 282 antipsychotic dispensings in the years 1999 to 2006 and 3041 dispensings in the years 2007 to 2014. Second-generation antipsychotic use during pregnancy increased over time, while first-generation-antipsychotics showed declining trend. The use of quetiapine has increased from 2.9% of total antipsychotic dispensings in 2002 up to 77.9% of total antipsychotic dispensings in 2008. Olanzapine use decreased from 78.1% in 2003 to around 20% since 2006. When comparing the age distribution, there was an increased proportion of patients receiving antipsychotics in the 30-39 age range in the second period of 2007 to 2014 compared to 1999 to 2006. The proportion of women on more than one antipsychotic increased from 5% (n = 8) to 9.8% (n = 81) when comparing between 1999 and 2006 and between 2007 and 2014. Our findings indicate a significant shift in prescribing patterns over the study period, with the increased use of antipsychotics, particularly the emergence of SGAs from 2007, changing trends in the use of specific medications as published findings on their safety profiles becomes evident, and more polypharmacy prescribing.

Analysis of Perinatal Women Attending a Mother and Baby Unit Taking Sodium Valproate or Lithium with a Diagnosis of Bipolar Affective Disorder.

In this study we describe the management of postnatal women with a bipolar disorder diagnosis who were prescribed either lithium or sodium valproate. There was a 38.2% (13 out of 34) relapse rate in patients discharged on lithium, compared to 46.7% (14 out of 30) relapse in patients discharged with valproate. Only 20 women (29.9%) continued to breastfeed at discharge. There were 32 (47.8%) who ceased breastfeeding during their MBU admission and 23 (34.3%) of whom ceased due to initiation of lithium therapy.

Evaluation of a Risk Screening Checklist for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis in a Women and Newborn Hospital.

Introduction: The venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk screening forms were developed to allow for recording identified risk factors for VTE including thrombophilia, history of VTE, postpartum hemorrhage, and cesarean delivery, and documentation of specific actions taken to mitigate these risks and reduce complications due to VTE. Methods: Compliance with hospital guidelines in assessing VTE risk and appropriate prescribing of thromboprophylaxis was evaluated prior to the introduction of VTE risk screening forms (March 2022). Efficacy of the new VTE risk screening forms was also assessed (April 2023). Patient discharge summaries and patient medical records including medication charts were used to review the documentation of VTE risk assessments and details of thromboprophylaxis prescribing. Results: Of 74 postnatal patients, 37.8% had VTE risk assessment documented prior to the introduction of VTE risk screening forms. Of 37 patients identified to be at moderate to high risk of VTE requiring pharmacological prophylaxis, 70.3% (n = 26) were appropriately prescribed pharmacological prophylaxis. After the risk screening forms were introduced, a total of 67 antenatal, postnatal, and gynecologic patients were studied. Of these, 32.8% (n = 22) of patients had all required fields completed appropriately. When using the forms, 26.9% (n = 7) of postnatal and 88% (n = 22) of gynecological patients were rated as medium or high risk, and all received medical review within 24 hours. Pharmacological prophylaxis was indicated in 88% (n = 22) of gynecological, 43.8% (n = 7) of antenatal, and 38.5% (n = 10) of postnatal patients, and all were appropriately prescribed. Conclusion: The guideline review and introduction of VTE risk screening forms was valuable to provide guidance in the risk assessment for VTE and to identify patients requiring prophylaxis.

Analysis of a Pharmacy Developed, Outpatient Lactation Consultant Initiated Domperidone Programme.

BACKGROUND: Domperidone is a commonly prescribed galactagogue used off-label for lactation insufficiency. Prescriber unfamiliarity or safety concerns can lead to therapeutic delay and potential early breastfeeding discontinuation. To facilitate access, the study site pharmacy department developed a Structured Administration and Supply Arrangement (SASA) for International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) to screen and initiate domperidone using a checklist. MATERIAL: To validate a domperidone screening tool via analysis of its use and compliance, together with a staff satisfaction survey. METHODS: Records were extracted from the REDCap® database for women with documented domperidone supply between 06/05/2022 and 27/01/2023 and reviewed with medical records. A staff survey was distributed assessing compliance and attitudes towards the SASA. RESULTS: Records of supply revealed that 34% (17/50) of patients were referred to a physician, revealing a discrepancy between database documentation and checklists, as no referrals were documented. Overall staff satisfaction with the SASA was rated 4.6 out of 5. 77.7% (7/9) felt confident counselling and supplying domperidone with the SASA in place. 88.9% (8/9) felt confident using the checklist to identify the appropriateness of therapy and referral to a physician. CONCLUSIONS: The system in place allows the IBCLCs to initiate and supply domperidone in a timely manner to breastfeeding mothers with lactation insufficiency. The support tools, including domperidone SASA, REDCap® documentation database and the checklist domperidone as a Galactagogue Checklist, can be greatly appreciated by the LCs. Continued discussion with IBCLCs to refine and improve the SASA and associated education package will result in more consistent compliance.

Pharmacist clinical interventions: Five years' experience of an efficient, low-cost, and future-proofed tool.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the development of an efficient and future-proofed tool for the documentation and analysis of clinical interventions (CIs). A secondary objective was to describe CIs recorded over a 5-year period and describe implications of the tool. METHOD: In 2016, a matrix guide and an advanced spreadsheet were implemented in the study hospital to document all CIs made by pharmacists. The data entry tabs are arranged by month. The summary report dashboard tab provides an automatically generated analysis of the real-time data following pharmacists entering the CI details. RESULTS: A total of 10,855 CIs were documented over the 5 years period starting from March 2016 to February 2021. The real-time data were utilised for multiple quality improvement initiatives including medical and nursing education, development of business cases and progress monitoring of newly established services. The tool was able to adapt with changes in devices, business intelligence software and migration to cloud storage. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrates the feasibility of developing a low-cost and low-resource CI documentation tool. This tool provides data with the capability to inform site-specific education strategies, monitor quality improvement services and inform management in business case preparation.

Evaluation of the clinical pharmacist services at a gynaecological oncology preadmission clinic.

Background: Pharmacists working in the multidisciplinary gynaecological oncology pre-admission clinic (PAC) are involved in the perioperative assessment of patients for a comprehensive medication history and information provision regarding withholding of medications before surgery. Objective: To evaluate the current services provided by pharmacists to multidisciplinary staff and patients attending the PAC. Methods: A staff and a patient feedback survey on the value and impact of PAC pharmacy services were distributed within the PAC. The impact of the PAC pharmacist was also assessed by analysing pharmacist interventions and key performance indicators documented. Results: Fifteen staff responses were recorded, 5 nursing staff, 2 midwives and 8 anaesthetists. Eighty-seven percent (n = 13) strongly agreed or agreed that pharmacists at PAC help reduce medication errors on admission. Staff strongly agreed 73% (n = 11) pharmacists obtain a more accurate medication history. Staff reported benefits in having a pharmacist at the clinic to discuss medication related questions with 87% (n = 13) strongly agreeing or agreeing with the statement. A staff overall satisfaction rating of 4.87 out of 5 was recorded. In the patient survey, respondents (n = 6) gave a 4.83 out of 5 rating in confidence in making changes to their medication and their overall satisfaction with the service provided. In reviewing data from January to June 2022, the number of patients seen by the pharmacist were 178 of 681 patients (26.1%) who attended the clinic. The most common medications involved in the pharmacist intervention include those that were advised to be withheld and those that required other changes to therapy prior to their procedure. Conclusion: The role of a PAC pharmacist can be greatly appreciated by the multidisciplinary team and patients. Pharmacist interventions and key performance indicators have demonstrated the important activities of clinical pharmacy services in the PAC in optimising patient care in medication management.

A health integrated platform for pharmacy clinical intervention data management and intelligent visual analytics and reporting.

Objective: Our initiative aimed to improve the system used to capture pharmacist clinical interventions to better support staff to document, manage and identify trends in medication-related problems (MRPs). The aim of the study was to develop an electronic tool which is easily accessible by most electronic devices with secure data storage and access. Methods: A REDCap® database was designed for documentation of pharmacy clinical interventions. Information documented can be retrieved in real-time and can be integrated to Microsoft Power BI® for real-time data visualisation. The dashboards were customised to display useful information including pharmacy clinical intervention details, common MRPs, common medications involved available to users at real time. Results: A total of 4343 interventions were documented from July 2022 to March 2023. The most common MRPs were omission of regular medications 876 (20.17%), condition untreated 722(16.62%), and contraindications apparent 451 (10.38%). The most common medications involved include iron 244 (5.62%), enoxaparin 231 (5.32%), macrogol laxatives 208 (4.79%), multivitamin 206 (4.74%), colecalciferol 179(4.12%), tramadol 156 (3.59%). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the significance of integration of health application tools of REDcap and Power BI in the data management and intelligent visual analytics and reporting.

Long-acting injectable antipsychotic treatment during pregnancy: Outcomes for women at a tertiary maternity hospital.

Our study aimed to examine pregnancy, neonatal and psychosocial outcomes for women treated with LAIs at tertiary maternity hospital. A retrospective review of all women who were treated with LAIs between 1999 and 2017. Cases were identified via the hospital dispensary system and outcome data were extracted case notes as well as the midwifery notification system. Measures included sociodemographic data, smoking, alcohol and illicit substance use, pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes, and neonatal outcomes. Psychosocial profiles such as psychiatric admission during pregnancy and statutory child protection involvement were also assessed. Where available, outcomes were compared with state population data. The study found 38 pregnancies to 36 women, who had LAI treatment. Two congenital malformations (5.7%) were recorded. Compared to general population data, pregnant women treated with LAIs were more likely to have obstetric complications including gestational diabetes and pregnancy hypertension and special care nursery admission for their babies. They also had elevated rates of psychiatric admissions during pregnancy and statutory child protection involvement. Outcomes were similar first and second generation LAIs exposure. As women on LAI have limited options for treatment of their psychotic disorders, the findings point towards a need for enhanced multidisciplinary pregnancy care for this vulnerable cohort.

Estimation of desvenlafaxine transfer into milk and infant exposure during its use in lactating women with postnatal depression.

This study characterises the extent of desvenlafaxine transfer into milk and provides data on infant exposure to desvenlafaxine via breast milk in ten women with postnatal depression and their breastfed infants. Desvenlafaxine concentration in milk and plasma was measured chromatographically in milk and in maternal and infant plasma collected at steady state. Theoretic and relative infant doses via milk were estimated and the per cent drug in infant versus mother's plasma was calculated. Theoretic infant dose via milk was 85 (53-117) µg kg(-1) day(-1) (mean and 95% confidence interval) and relative infant dose was 6.8% (5.5-8.1%). The ratio of drug in infant/maternal plasma also gave an infant exposure estimate of 4.8% (3.5-6.2%) for all ten infants and 5.3% (4.2-5.7%) in the eight infants who were exclusively breastfed. No adverse effects were seen in the infants. The relative infant dose was similar to that for previous studies using venlafaxine and was supported by a separate exposure measure using the ratio of drug in the infant's plasma relative to that in the mother's plasma. The theoretic infant dose of desvenlafaxine was 41-45% of that for venlafaxine and its metabolite desvenlafaxine in previous studies, reflecting the lower recommended maternal dose for desvenlafaxine. Although our data for desvenlafaxine use in lactation are encouraging and there are supporting data from venlafaxine studies, more patients and their infants need to be studied before the safety of desvenlafaxine as a single therapeutic agent can be fully assessed.

Assessment of infant dose through milk in a lactating woman taking amisulpride and desvenlafaxine for treatment-resistant depression.

This study presents the case of a 35-year-old breastfeeding mother who delivered her fourth child 5 months previously and was prescribed 100 mg amisulpride twice daily and 250 mg desvenlafaxine in the morning for treatment-resistant depression. Arriving at this regimen took approximately 2 months postbirth. Because she was keen to continue breastfeeding her infant, and published data on the use of amisulpride and desvenlafaxine were very limited, the clinical team sought assistance from the therapeutic drug monitoring laboratory to quantify infant dose-exposure to guide consideration of continuing breastfeeding. A sampling schedule for milk and plasma from mother and plasma from her infant was agreed and drug concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Absolute (theoretic) infant dose (µg/kg/d) was calculated as the product of the average concentration in milk and an assumed milk intake of 0.15 L/kg/day (294 mg/kg/day for desvenlafaxine and 183 mg/kg/day for amisulpride), and relative infant dose was estimated as absolute infant dose expressed as a percentage of the maternal dose in µg/kg/day (7.8% for desvenlafaxine and 6.1% for amisulpride). Consistent with the infant being partially breastfed, the ratio of drug in the infant's plasma to that in mother's plasma was lower at 1.7% for desvenlafaxine and 3.9% for amisulpride. A pediatric assessment of the infant found achievement of expected developmental progress for age and no detectable drug-related adverse effects. Assessing the safety of breastfeeding was difficult because it involved simultaneous use of two drugs for which there was limited previous experience. However, after discussion of the infant dose-exposure data and lack of adverse effects, the mother elected to continue partial breastfeeding for the next few months. The clinical team plans a reassessment of the infant's progress in 3 months.

Estimation of rac-amisulpride transfer into milk and of infant dose via milk during its use in a lactating woman with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

This case describes the transfer of the antipsychotic drug amisulpride into milk and the estimation of infant exposure via breastfeeding. The dyad investigated was a 28-year-old lactating woman and her 13-month-old daughter. The woman had been taking 400 mg of amisulpride daily for 9 days and provided eight milk samples and one blood sample over a 24-hour dose interval. Amisulpride concentrations in these samples were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, and infant dose was calculated by standard methods. The infant's health and progress were evaluated by a neonatal pediatrician. Transfer of amisulpride into milk was high, with a milk:plasma distribution ratio of 19.5 (5,188 µg/L in milk and 266 µg/L in plasma). The average amisulpride concentration in milk was 3,562 µg/L, which, when multiplied by an average milk intake of 0.15 L/kg/day, gave an absolute infant dose of 534 µg/kg/day. The relative infant dose was 10.7% of the maternal weight-adjusted dose (5,000 µg/kg/day), which is slightly above the usual 10% safety recommendation. The infant was in good health with an appropriate Denver development score for her age. She showed no acute drug-related adverse effects. Given that the infant had already benefited from 13 months of breastfeeding, that amisulpride has potential adverse effects, and that its relative infant dose was 10.7%, we recommended cessation of breastfeeding in the near-term.