HOSPITAL pharmacists are calling for action to be taken across four priority areas to counter the risk of medicine-related harm.
In a Medication Safety Position Statement released to coincide with World Patient Safety Day, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) has urged authorities to harness the hospital pharmacy workforce to implement evidence-based service changes to boost quality use of medicines.
The statement calls for the expansion of partnered pharmacist medication charting to all Australian hospitals, noting it has been proven to reduce the proportion of inpatients with at least one medication error by 62.4% compared with traditional medication charting, while also cutting the length of inpatient stays by 10.6%.
The SHPA has also called for the use of interim medication charts in key transitions of care settings; seven-day extended hours access to clinical pharmacy services in all health settings where medications are used; and the introduction of pharmacist-led medication safety programs in all hospitals.
Launching the policy, SHPA CEO, Kristin Michaels, said hospital pharmacists are critical to the collective effort to bolster health outcomes through quality use of medicines in Australia.
"All Australians are entitled to safe, effective and timely medication management services while they are undergoing medical treatment," she said.
"With the use of medication the most common healthcare intervention, and more than nine million Australians taking a prescribed medication every day, medication safety is core business for all health service organisations.
"Pharmacists are experts in medication management and should be integrated into the multidisciplinary healthcare team, working in partnership with health practitioners, patients and consumers to lead, facilitate and promote high standards of safe and timely prescribing, dispensing, administration and monitoring of medicines.
"We are proud to release SHPA's Medication Safety Position Statement today, which supports this crucial endeavour, unlocking the potential of hospital pharmacists to ensure safe and optimal medication use for all Australians."
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