PHARMACISTS are voicing their frustrations that the profession does not have a greater role in ensuring patients safe discharge from hospitals at weekends.
ACT-based pharmacist, Sarah Sinclair, raised the issue on Twitter after meeting a patient who had been prescribed new medications prior to being discharged on Sun 14 Apr but did not receive any medication counselling.
"Frustrated that the first (and only) pharmacist a post-MI patient saw today for four new long-term medicines was me, in the community pharmacy late on a Sun after discharge," she said.
"No meds counselling at hospital, no pharmacist review represent a missed opportunity for genuine collaborative care."
Responding to Sinclair's tweet, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Early Career Pharmacist board director and hospital pharmacist, Lauren Burton, said the lack of pharmacist involvement in patients' discharge was "borderline negligent".
"The absence of hospital pharmacy services on weekend, including skeleton services... is a growing problem," she said.
"It's also frustrating that a patient can leave without a pharmacist knowing or being informed.
"Embedding pharmacists at transitions of care, or mandating that a patient must see a pharmacist, especially when their ongoing treatment and health depends on medicines is critical and not involving a pharmacist is borderline negligent."
Pharmacy academic, Rohan Elliott, warned the lack of pharmacist involvement had significant patient safety consequences, citing common prescribing errors on discharge scripts.
"If scripts are not reviewed by a pharmacist before discharge, errors may not be detected," he warned.
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