Report; Interrupting Pharmacist Improves Prescription Accuracy.
OMAHA, NE (Drugmonkey News Service)
- In a surprising report that may have major implications for public health, researchers at Creighton University released a new study today that shows a wide array of distractions to the prescription filling process can decease misfiled prescriptions by as much as 90 percent.
The report surprised everyone that is, except for you, who knew it all along.
"For well over a century, pharmacy as a profession has operated under the assumption that the tasks of its practitioners would be better attended to if attention were paid to them. Calculating overdoses, evaluating the significance of potential drug interactions, accurately transcribing verbal orders and answering questions from both other health professionals and the general public, it seemed intuitive that some level of concentration should be allowed for, but now we can conclusively say this isn't the case." said lead researcher Burt Von Klaussen. "It would seem as if pharmacy customers had it right all along. The more times a pharmacist is interrupted in the process of filling a prescription, the more you can trust that prescription to be filled accurately"
The muti-year, muti-center study, funded by CVS, found that while the activation of a fax machine in the background had a significantly significant impact on prescription accuracy, it paled in comparison to the most effective method, having a pharmacist stop what they were doing, walk over to the other side of the pharmacy, and be asked by you what was taking so long. That maneuver almost completely eliminated prescription errors.
"While we would love to be able to implement a "What is taking so long?" step into every prescription we fill, unfortunately, it is cost prohibitive at this time." said CVS Chief Operating Officer Larry J. Merlo. "Fortunately, our new program of adding a full time employee to do nothing but stare at the pharmacist from the other side of the counter and sigh periodically is producing exciting results, with errors already down 25%, our corporate malpractice rates have been reduced."
Number three drug store chain Rite Aid responded to the study by installing air-raid sirens that will randomly emit 100 decibel blasts from the main computer workstation in 2,000 of its stores. Analysts said that while the extra noise ultimately should have a positive effect on the troubled retailer's pharmacy operations, the company may have erred by deciding to spend $11 trillion on the new system, and financing that amount over the next 2 years.
"I don't understand what the deal is, God I have a tee time in 10 minutes!" You said when reached for comment. You then proceeded to stand right next to the cash register while people were being rung out, increasing the chances they would be willing to ask about their medication's side effects by 15 percent.
