products or medical devices used, and any staff
involved in their treatment, was recommended. This
was seen as a method of greatly improving end-to-
end patient safety.
Electronic prescriptions and automatic dispensing
The importance of transitioning fully from written
to electronic prescriptions was heavily emphasised.
As mentioned previously, an appropriate
prescription including the correct medication, dose,
duration and formulation, is one of the first steps of
good medication management. The use of electronic
prescriptions and automatic dispensing can help
physicians to achieve this standard. An IT system
which flags up problems, such as over prescribing of
drugs outside of the normal ranges, is a key
component to improving patient safety and
providing data. Additionally, electronic prescriptions
and automatic dispensing can improve staff
efficiency and allow for the sharing and integration
of data between institutions.
Interoperability between data and IT systems
As medication management can involve numerous
individuals in various institutions, is it crucial that
there is good communication and collaboration
between all individuals involved. A concern was
raised that there is often a lack of communication
and data sharing between different institutes,
particularly between primary care and hospitals. An
example given was how an oncologist may prescribe
a new anticancer medication for a patient, but if
this patient subsequently obtains this drug from
a community pharmacy, the pharmacist may lack
the necessary knowledge required as insufficient
information is being relayed between themselves
and the oncologist.
These issues could be massively alleviated if IT
systems between institutions were interoperable and
allowed data and information to be easily shared.
Education
Undoubtably, education is a critical component of
providing staff with the knowledge and confidence
to use IT systems correctly. The adoption of a new IT
system into a workplace involves not only its
physical implementation, but also a cultural change
from staff. Hence, education should be provided
across the whole system to all those who may be
involved in the IT system’s use.
Interlinked drug sharing networks
It was agreed, that while many of the solutions to
Summary table of the main challenges and proposed
solutions
Challenge Proposed solutions
Drug shortages
• AI to predict future medication needs
• Electronic prescriptions and automatic dispensing
• Interlinked drug sharing networks
• Standardisation of protocols
Data standardisation
• Electronic prescriptions and automatic dispensing
• Unique ID barcodes
• Interoperability between data and IT systems
• Standardisation of protocols
Unfriendly computer
applications • Provision of friendly, predictive and intuitive IT
• Education of staff who will be using the application
The knowledge
is in the hospitals
and the use is
outside the
hospitals
Alain Astier, France
drug shortages lie with the manufacturers, there are
measures which hospitals and national health
authorities can implement to mitigate the impact of
these shortages. One such measure is creating an
interlinked network between different hospitals,
whereby drug stock can be shared and relocated
based on each hospital’s requirement. Delegates
from Italy and the UK, who had used these systems
previously, agreed that while these systems can be
highly useful, they need to be implemented in a
manner which encourages trust and collaboration,
to prevent hospitals overstocking or hoarding stock.
Standardisation of protocols
As highlighted by delegates, even within the same
hospital, drug protocols may differ between
departments or be completely absent.
Standardisation of protocols can improve the level
of patient care and make drug inventory
management more feasible.
Conclusions
Undoubtably, optimising medication management
is a powerful opportunity to improve patient
safety and economic efficiency. This advisory board
provided an essential and necessary platform for
the key stakeholders to collaborate and become
proactively involved in the movement of advancing
medication management throughout Europe. Many
practical solutions were put forward, which at the
very least, warrant further investigation and
evaluation through trialled implementation.
I think for me it’s
an opportunity…
we have a huge
opportunity to
have better use
of the drugs that
we already have
Etienne Cousein, France
6 | 2019 | hospitalpharmacyeurope.com