Es el momento de revisar cómo se preparan y administran los medicamentos inyectables en los hospitales europeos

Abstract

It has been known, for decades, that the use of injectable medicines in\xa0European hospitals has been associated with frequent medication errors,\xa0some of which cause preventable severe harms and deaths. There\xa0 have\xa0been national and European inquiries and reports concerning\xa0 improving\xa0patient safety by recommending greater use of pharmacy\xa0 aseptic preparation\xa0services and provision of ready-to administer\xa0 injectables, which have\xa0not been widely implemented.In England experience of treating patients with COVID-19 infections\xa0has\xa0 brought into focus other benefits of significantly extending pharmacy\xa0aseptic preparation services. These benefits include saving\xa0 nursing time,\xa0having systems in place which have resilience and capacity,\xa0 reducing\xa0variation in practice, improving clinical staff and patient\xa0 experience, and\xa0enabling more injectable medicines to be administered to\xa0 patients at\xa0home. It has also been recognised that more action is required\xa0 to standardise\xa0policies and procedures for injectable medicines and\xa0 mplement the\xa0use of smart infusion devices with dose error reduction\xa0 software, to help\xa0minimise drug administration errors.Hospital pharmacists have a key role in developing these services\xa0to bring\xa0 European hospitals more in line with those provided by hospital\xa0pharmacies in North America.