Pharmaceutical validation as a process of improving the quality of antineoplastic treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the improvement added by standardization of pharmaceutical validation (PV) of antineoplastic treatment to the processes of prescription and preparation of the pharmacotherapeutic sequence, in terms of prevention and reduction of medication errors (ME).


METHODS
Prospective cohort study during two years (from 2001-2002) for oncohaematologic patients (inpatients and outpatients) that compared the percentage of medication errors detected and resolved and the number of medication errors with potential clinical significance (severity value >or=4) intercepted during PV in both years.


RESULTS
During the PV processes, 202 ME were identified and resolved, which is the equivalent of 16.88 ME/1,000 patient-days. In 2001 14.08 ME/1,000 patient-days were detected and 19.83 ME/1,000 patient-days in 2002. This means that the effectiveness of the identification method increased by 41%. The number of ME intercepted with clinical significance (severity value >or=4) increased in a statistically significant manner by 2.18 times in 2002.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that the standardization of PV is an effective method of improving the quality of antineoplastic treatment use, by increasing the ability to intercept ME.
Serrano Fabiá
Amparo
A
Pharmacy Department, Hospital Universitario Dr. Peset, 46017 Valencia, Spain. serrano_ampfab@gva.es
Cavero Rodrigo
Elisa
E
Albert Marí
Asunción
A
Almenar Cubells
Daniel
D
Jiménez Torres
N Victor
NV
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006405:Hematology / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000379:methods / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D005791:Patient Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D010593:Pharmaceutical Services / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents