Risk management ‒ component part of the quality assurance system of pharmaceutical care

Abstract

Abstract. Introduction. In the pharmaceutical field, the quality management is a priority and the risk management is a valuable component of an effective quality system. It involves anticipating hazards and controlling risk through a process of risk awareness, reduction, and review. The aim of this paper was to reveal the usefulness of modern risk management strategies and to assess the impact of risk management in the provision of quality services by community pharmacies. Material and methods. The causes that can lead to medication errors in community pharmacies were identified by applying the CNAM Method combined with the Delphi Technique, later the risks were categorized by the Ishikawa diagram, analyzed and evaluated by applying the expert analysis method (MAE) in risk assessment, graphically represented by the Matrix risks and ranked, highlighting pharmacy activities during which medication errors may occur. Results. The risk factor was calculated for 56 potential risks that can cause medication errors, of which 8 for the activity of ordering medicines, 8 potential risks for the activity of receiving products, 6 risks for the activity of storing products, 17 risks for the preparation of drugs and 17 risks for drug dispensing activity. Applying the MAE method in risk assessment, risk occurrence probability and outcome impact values were obtained for each risk. The potential risks of error were graphically represented using the Risk Matrix. Thus, the following activities with a major level of risk were highlighted, for which urgent measures to minimize the impact are required: illegible writing in prescriptions (15.5), fatigue of pharmaceutical staff (15.48), overwork/multitasking (14.99), prescriptions containing errors (14.26), insufficient staff knowledge (13.81), ordering inappropriate quantities of products in pharmacies (13.59), incomplete prescriptions (12.86) and similar packaging of medicines (12.63). Conclusions. The results of this paper provide the basis for further research in order to develop a Risk Management Plan in community pharmacy. The causes that can lead to errors in the pharmacy have been identified, by highlighting pharmaceutical activities, during which risks of errors may occur. The work has practical use, and the research results can be applied by pharmacies, contributing to the improvement of their performance.