Drug Related Problems Encountered in Outpatient Pharmacy Setting at Hospital Pakar Sultanah Fatimah, Muar

Introduction Drug related problems (DRPs) lead to negative health outcomes among patients in terms of morbidity, mortality and increased health care costs. The study aimed to evaluate the DRPs by determining the incidence and causes of DRPs as well as the interventions conducted to resolve the DRPS. Methodology This is a prospective, cross-sectional and observational study conducted in November 2020 by pharmacists in an Outpatient Pharmacy Setting. Outpatient Pharmacy supplies medications to the patients who visit to the specialist clinics of the hospital as well as the patients who discharge from wards. All DRPs detected from the received prescriptions and the interventions conducted during the study period were documented and analysed. Results Of the 9598 prescriptions received, 319 DRPs were identified. "Treatment Effectiveness" (55.8%) was the most common DRPs. The main causes of DRPs were "Drug Selection" (38.73%) and "Dose Selection" (31.21%). A total of 634 interventions were conducted: 76.14% were done at prescriber level and 23.14% were done by changing drug or indicating change in drug use. Of the 441 interventions proposed to the prescribers and patients, 438 (99.5%) were accepted. All 319 (100%) DRPs were totally solved. Discussion / Conclusion The data collected could primarily utilize bringing solutions to avoid future medication errors and optimize therapeutic outcomes, by identifying and preventing higher tendency of repetitive DRPs to occur. As a whole, increase cost-effectiveness on health care resource utilization. Disclaimer: Abstract text might vary slightly from what is displayed in the e-poster.This poster was submitted to the 14th National Conference for Clinical Research (NCCR) in August 18-20, 2021. https://nccrconference.com.my