Pharmacy contribution to the prescription and rational use of human albumin at a large hospital

Objective: The purpose of this survey was to reduce the use of human albumin 20% in non-supported indications at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. Methods: During a 30-day period, in December 2006, a preliminary prospective analysis of medical prescriptions of human albumin 20% and therapeutic indications according to ANVISA RDC 115 guidelines was performed. Based on this analysis, a project was developed. In January 2007, a daily routine to follow up albumin prescriptions by the Hospital pharmacists was established. Results: From January to October 2007, 14,799 vials of albumin 20% were used, out of which 4,191 had non-supported indications, resulting in a R$ 1.36 million loss. In 2008 (from January to October), 13,519 vials of albumin 20% were prescribed, and 1,648 of them had non-supported indications, causing a R$ 535 thousand loss. The ratio between loss risk and consumed amount was 91.99 between January and October 2007. During the same period in 2008, this ratio was 39.60. Between January and October 2007, the average percentage of albumin prescribed for non-supported indications was 28%, whereas this percentage dropped to 13%, i.e., a decrease by 54%, during the same period of 2008. Conclusions: The inclusion of a pharmacist in the process of verifying medicine indications and justification of use was translated into safer processes to patients, ensuring that they received the correct medication for the correct indication, therefore reducing the chance of adverse events and contributing to reduce red-tape procedures and unnecessary expenditures by the institution