Evaluation of pharmacy technician’s participation in medication verification process of inpatient department: A case study in one general hospital in Ubon Ratchathani province

Authors

  • Pradit Khotsang Master of Pharmacy Program in Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ubon Ratchathani University
  • Nonglek Kunawaradisai Pharmacy Practice Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ubon Ratchathani University
  • Sawaeng Watcharathanakij Pharmacy Practice Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ubon Ratchathani University
  • Arporn Jaturapattarawong Pharmacy Practice Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ubon Ratchathani University
  • Watcharodom Supaluk Pharmacy Department, Warinchamrab Hospital, Ubon Ratchathani Province
  • Jaree Limphun Pharmacy Department, Warinchamrab Hospital, Ubon Ratchathani Province

Keywords:

Verification, Medication reconciliation, Pharmacy technician

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the accuracy and determine the time used in the verification process by pharmacy technicians and general technicians. This study also identified pharmacists’ satisfaction and opinion of pharmacy technicians and general technicians towards the verification processes. The subjects were patients admitted to the in-patient unit, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and technicians, for a total number of 513, 4, 12, and 14, respectively.  Time interval sampling was used to obtain data from patients, while the purposive selection was applied to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and other technicians. Data were collected from March to September 2021 using instruments which were verification record forms, pharmacists’ satisfaction questionnaires, and pharmacy technicians' and technicians’ opinion questionnaires.  The results revealed that the total accuracy of the verification process conducted by pharmacy technicians and technicians was 92.51 and 90.02 percent, respectively. In addition, the accuracy level of the verification in each domain was more than 90.00 percent for the two groups. Verification times for pharmacy technicians and technicians were reported at 0.82 and 0.94 minutes per 1 drug item, respectively.  Using Pearson correlation to test a relationship between the number of drugs and the percentage of verification accuracy revealed that there was a negative relationship between the number of drugs and verification accuracy of drug dosing in the group of technicians at a very low level (r =-.256, p-value < .001). Pharmacists’satisfaction towards the verification process conducted by pharmacy technicians was at a high level ( = 4.07, SD = 0.66). These findings implied that pharmacy technicians can efficiently complete the medication verification and are valuable in this process.

References

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Published

2023-01-24

How to Cite

Khotsang, P., Kunawaradisai, N., Watcharathanakij, S., Jaturapattarawong, A., Supaluk, W., & Limphun, J. (2023). Evaluation of pharmacy technician’s participation in medication verification process of inpatient department: A case study in one general hospital in Ubon Ratchathani province. Journal of Medicine and Public Health, Ubon Ratchathani University, 6(1), 35–48. Retrieved from https://he01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jmpubu/article/view/257652

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Section

Research Articles