Evaluation of the Impact of the Presence of a Pharmacy Technician on the Quality and Cost of Drug Therapy

Evaluation of the Impact of the Presence of a Pharmacy Technician on the Quality and Cost of Drug Therapy in the Hepato-Gastroenterology Department of the Nîmes University Hospital

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of the presence of a pharmacy technician in a care unit (Hepato-Gastroenterology Department) on detected medication errors.

This is a before-after study consisting of three sequential phases:

Month 1: one month of observation of what is happening in the department Month 2: one month wash out period Month 3: active participation of a pharmacy technician in the department

The secondary objectives of this study are:

A- To assess the impact of the presence of a pharmacy technician on the ratio of the number of patients with at least one medication error / number of included patients hospitalized in the service.

B- To characterize detected medication errors.

C- To identify and evaluate the potential causes of medication errors.

D- To evaluate whether the presence of a pharmacy technician reduces nursing time spent on medication management.

E- To evaluate the economic impact of the presence of a pharmacy technician.

F- To evaluate the acceptability of the intervention by the nursing staff and pharmacy technicians using questionnaires.

Inclusion Criteria:

• The patient must be insured or beneficiary of a health insurance plan
• The patient is hospitalized in the Hepato-Gastroenterology Department of the Nîmes University Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

• The patient is under judicial protection
• The patient, or his/her legal guardian, expresses opposition to participation in the study
• It is impossible to correctly inform the patient