Assessing the Role of Pharmaceutical Technical Assistents in Hospital Wards: Measuring Efficiency and Medication Safety

NCT06731387 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: EC24018
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this interventional study is to evaluate the impact of implementing pharmaceutical technical assistants (PTAs) to support the medication process on hospital wards on operational efficiency and medication safety among nurses and pharmaceutical technicial assistants. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• What is the effect of PTAs on the time spent by (night) nurses on medication dispensation?
• How does their involvement influence unplanned interactions between nursing staff and the pharmacy?
• What is the impact of PTAs on the safety of medication processes, including missed or delayed doses, accuracy of dispensed medication, and reported medication errors? Researchers will compare periods with and without the involvement of PTAs in the medication management process on the hospital ward to assess differences in:
• Time spent on medication dispensation.
• Frequency of unplanned interactions between hospital wards and the pharmacy.
• Rates of missed or delayed medication doses.
• Accuracy of dispensed medication compared to prescriptions.
• Reported medication errors. During the observed medication dispensation processes, involved nurses and PTAs will:
• Be observed while preparing medications to measure time and interruptions.
• Provide data on medication errors and delays through digital systems and reports.
• Complete a demographic questionnaire about their professional background. This study involves both intervention and control periods, allowing researchers to measure the specific effects of PTAs' involvement in medication processes.

Conditions

Medication Safety; Time Efficiency; Interdepartmental Communication

Keywords

pharmacy assistants; medication safety; hospital ward; medication management; nursing

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Time spent on medication dispensation on the hospital ward

  Intervention Period: Observing and recording the time the Pharmaceutical Technical Assistant (PTA) spends dispensing medication on the hospital ward. This is followed by observing and recording the time the night nurse takes to complete the medication dispensation for the next day. Control Period: Observing and recording the time the night nurse spends dispensing medication for the next day without PTA involvement.

  Data collection was conducted over five days during the control period and five days during the intervention period on each of the included hospital wards.

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Dispensing errors

  Data collection was conducted over five days during the control period and five days during the intervention period on each of the included hospital wards.

• Delayed and omitted medication doses

  Data collection was conducted over five days during the control period and five days during the intervention period on each of the included hospital wards.

• Reported Medication Errors

  Data collection was conducted over five days during the control period and five days during the intervention period on each of the included hospital wards.

• Interdepartmental Communication Between Pharmacy and Hospital Ward

  Data collection was conducted over five days during the control period and five days during the intervention period on each of the included hospital wards.

Study Arms (1)

PTAs dispensing medications

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: Pharmaceutical technical assistants supported medication dispensation on the hospital ward

Interventions

Pharmaceutical technical assistants supported medication dispensation on the hospital ward OTHER

Pharmaceutical technical assistants (PTAs) visit the hospital ward for two hours in the morning or afternoon to dispense medications for admitted patients for the following day. Night nurses then complete any final additions or adjustments as needed.

PTAs dispensing medications

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Control Period:
• Medication dispensation moments must be performed by nurses during the nightshift. .
• Nurses included must have at least six months of experience working night shifts.
• Intervention Period:
• Medication dispensation moments must be performed by PTAs.
• PTAs included must have at least six months of experience specifically in medication dispensation tasks.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Vitaz: lead
• Universiteit Antwerpen: collaborator
• University of Applied Sciences Utrecht: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Vitaz

Sint-Niklaas, Oost-Vlaanderen, 9100, Belgium

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Rathbone AP, Jamie K, Blackburn J, Gray W, Baqir W, Henderson E, Campbell D. Exploring an extended role for pharmacy assistants on inpatient wards in UK hospitals: using mixed methods to develop the role of medicines assistants. Eur J Hosp Pharm. 2020 Mar;27(2):78-83. doi: 10.1136/ejhpharm-2018-001518. Epub 2018 Sep 3.

  PMID: 32133133 BACKGROUND

• Kjeldsen LJ, Schlunsen M, Meijers A, Hansen S, Christensen C, Bender T, Ratajczyk B. Medication Dispensing by Pharmacy Technicians Improves Efficiency and Patient Safety at a Geriatric Ward at a Danish Hospital: A Pilot Study. Pharmacy (Basel). 2023 May 8;11(3):82. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy11030082.

  PMID: 37218964 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Tinne Dilles, Doctor, Professor

  Universiteit Antwerpen

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Brecht Seraes, Doctor

CONTACT

+3237602039; brecht.serraes@vitaz.be

Marjan De Graef

CONTACT

+3237602038; marjan.degraef@vitaz.be

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: This study focuses on analyzing 50 medication dispensation processes on hospital wards, evenly distributed across two distinct periods: a control period without the involvement of Pharmaceutical Technical Assistants (PTAs) (medication dispensation by the night nurses) and an intervention period where PTAs actively participate in medication dispensation. Nurses and PTAs observed during the dispensation processes will be included in the study based on the selected medication dispensation moments during which they are on duty.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 2, 2024
• First Posted: December 12, 2024
• Study Start: December 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: July 1, 2025
• Study Completion: July 1, 2025
• Last Updated: December 12, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

BE (1)