Meds review key for Parkinson’s care

HIGH rates of medication prescribing and administration errors impacting hospital patients with Parkinson’s disease highlight the need for pharmacists to play a greater role in their care, research reveals.

A study conducted by researchers from Flinders University, the University of South Australia and the University of Western Australia, found that patients who did not have a pharmacist-led medication history within 24 hours of admission to hospital, had significantly higher rates of medication errors than those who did.

The paper, published in Plos One, reported that of 351 patients included in the study, 85% of case notes reviewed contained one or more Parkinson’s medication error during the administration phase.

“We believe this data indicates that people with Parkinson’s disease should be ranked as of ‘high importance’ when developing clinical prioritisation tools for pharmacists,” the study’s authors said.

“Pharmacists supporting prescribers by completing a thorough medication history when a person with Parkinson’s disease is first admitted to the hospital offers a realistic solution that can be easily implemented to reduce error rates, as clinical pharmacists are often already present in large hospital pharmacy departments.”

The authors added that another measure to limit the risk of medication errors amongst patients with Parkinson’s when they are hospitalised would be to provide a “go bag” containing the current medications, which would be ready to be taken to hospital in the event of an emergency.