THE ROLE OF THE PHARMACIST IN THE EVALUATION OF MEDICAL PRESCRIPTIONS IN AN ADULT INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

Adverse events and medication errors are major challenges in hospital care. The objective of this study was to perform a pharmaceutical evaluation of medical prescriptions for patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital located in Santos/SP. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Santa Cecília University under number 79248924.3.0000.5513. A total of 300 possible drug-related problems were found, the main ones being absence of infusion time in 121 drugs (40.33%), incompatibility in 108 drugs (36%) and therapeutic duplication in 51 drugs (17%). The pharmacist's intervention in the medication process allows the identification and mitigation of potential risks, contributing to more effective pharmacological therapy.

Keywords: ICU (intensive care unit), pharmaceutical care and medication prescription.