Documentation of pharmacist interventions in the emergency department

Abstract

While only a limited number of pharmacists practice in emergency medicine, clinical pharmacy in the emergency department (ED) has been documented since the 1970s.1,–3 The ED offers a unique setting in which pharmacists can solve medication-related problems, identify drug–drug interactions, and prevent medication errors.4,5 Part of the daily duties of the ED pharmacists at Grady Health System (GHS) is to document interventions to assess the impact of their services. However, the ED is a busy setting where lack of time or access to computers can dictate the quantity of interventions documented. Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are a simple and efficient method for collecting pharmacist’s interventions and, due to their portability, may be useful documentation tools in the ED.6,7 Many institutions use computerized methods to document pharmacist interventions, but none have studied their use in the ED.8,–12 In addition to the documentation of interventions, the effect of pharmacy services is assessed by determining the impact of interventions on cost outcomes. Many methods of determining cost avoidance have been reported, but there is no standard model.13,–16