DOI: https://njcpt.com.ng/101.1.2.29
Abstract
Introduction: Unit dose dispensing system (UDDS) is a direct patient care service of dispensing medicines to inpatients for 24 hours. As shown in this study, an appropriate drug dispensing system is vital for preventing, reducing and resolving medication errors by minimising actual or potential drug-related problems of medical inpatients.
Objectives: To compare the benefits of UDDS to the traditional system; to identify drug-related problems; to compare patients' and Nurses' assessments of Pharmacists' Clinical Impacts; to assess for overprescribing and drug allergies; to investigate patients' discharge status and length of hospital stay.
Method: A structured and pre-tested patients' medication profile of the inpatient pharmacy of Federal University Teaching Hospital (formerly FMC), Owerri, and Patients' case files (folders) were used for the study. Inpatient Patient Medication Profile completed data collection that was not exhaustive in patients' folders. The study was a cross-sectional observational and prospective research conducted on 108 patients for four months. Analysis was done using student's t-test, descriptive and Pearson correlation of statistical package for the social sciences version 20.
Results: The folder (supposed traditional drug bill) drug bill of the patients was N4,874,025 (75.9%) compared to the UDDS drug bill of N1,169,142 (18.2%). The need for additional drugs amongst Drug Related Problems (DRPs) was 52(48.1%), while the dose too low was 2(1.9%). The correlation between pharmacists' impact assessment by patients and pharmacists' impact assessment by Nurses was positively strong (r = 1; 0.28) but not statistically significant (P < 0.188). The mean drugs per prescription was 6.77 ± 2.6, while non-known drug allergies (NKDA) were recorded highest. Ciprofloxacin, paracetamol, and quinine had the most minor drug allergies of 1(0.9%), which is not statistically significant (p< 0.000). The length of hospital stay was 20.77 ± 2.22 days; a greater number of patients were stable at discharge from the hospital, 55(50.9%), while the referred patients for further care was 31(28.7%) as mean age and mean body mass index of patients were 52.82 ± 1.79 and 25.33 ± 0.42 respectively.
Conclusion: The study exposed the need to implement the Unit Dose Dispensing System in the inpatient services of our healthcare system.
Keywords: Impacts, Medical Inpatient, Unit Dose Dispensing System, Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri, Nigeria.