Impact of an HIV-trained clinical pharmacist intervention on error rates of antiretroviral and opportunistic infection medications in the inpatient setting

Background: Based on a retrospective study performed at our institution, 38% of inpatients living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were found to have a medication error involving their anti-retroviral (ARV) and/or opportunistic infection (OI) prophylaxis medications. Objective: To determine the impact of a dedicated HIV-trained clinical pharmacist on the ARV and OI prophylaxis medication error rates at our institution. Methods: A prospective quality improvement project was conducted over a six month period to assess the impact of a dedicated HIV-trained clinical pharmacist on the ARV and OI prophylaxis medication error rates. IRB approval received. Results: There were 144 patients included in this analysis, who experienced a combined 76 medication errors. Compared to historical control study conducted at our institution, the percent of patients who experienced a medication error remained stable (38% vs. 39%, respectively) and the error rate per patient was similar (1.44 vs. 1.36, p=NS). The percent of medication errors that were corrected prior to discharge increased from 24% to 70% and the median time to error correction decreased from 42 hours to 11.5 hours (p