Authors (including presenting author) :
Yeung SSY, Tsoi HHY, Cheung KM, Wong RMH, Tong TKS, Wong WTS, Wong HSY, Kong HS, Mak RWM, Chui WCM
Affiliation :
Department of Pharmacy, Queen Mary Hospital
Introduction :
Amber-coloured bottles for dispensing oral liquid preparations have been introduced in Pharmacy for light protection purpose but also increases difficulties to verify the drug identity of the dispensed oral liquids during drug checking process. Moreover, for certain oral liquid preparations which bear a shortened shelf life after first opening of original bottle or reconstitution, the assignment of the new Use Before Date requires Pharmacy staff’s manual calculation and counterchecking, which is often time-consuming and error-prone.
Objectives :
- To enhance medication safety by providing additional verification support for drug identity during dispensing of oral liquids
- To ensure accuracy and improve efficiency in assigning the new Use Before Date after first opening or reconstitution of oral liquids
Methodology :
An Electronic Verification System was developed to provide additional verification support for drug identity during dispensing of oral liquids. By scanning barcodes on original oral liquid products and patient dispensing label, a verification label would be generated by the System upon correct matching of drug identity. For oral liquids with shortened shelf life after first opening or reconstitution, the newly assigned Use Before Date would also be calculated automatically by the System and printed on the verification label, which would be affixed on the dispensing bottle for user’s reference.
Result & Outcome :
Implementation of the Electronic Verification System was carried out in two phases. The first phase was initiated in November 2020 to provide drug identity verification support for oral liquids during dispensing. The second phase, which has been commenced since September 2021, was a further enhancement of the System to provide automatic calculation of the newly assigned Use Before Date. From October to November 2021, the average number of dispensing with additional verification support and that with automatic calculation of newly assigned Use Before Date provided by the System was 1240 and 346 per month respectively, with zero dispensing near miss. Pharmacy staff also expressed high satisfaction rate towards the System which is user-friendly. The Electronic Verification System is useful in enhancing medication safety and efficiency in dispensing oral liquid preparations. The system ensures that correct drug is being dispensed with correct expiry information provided in a timely manner.
