Abstract
Centralized intravenous admixture service (CIVAS) centres, which are pharmaceutical departments found in Chinese hospitals, provide high-quality intravenous fluids and pharmaceutical services for patients, and errors in their working procedures can lead to adverse consequences. Pharmacists, the primary CIVAS centre personnel, play a role in risk control; however, to date, the effect of pharmacists' participation in risk management has not been reported. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacist's role in risk control and evaluate its impact. A retrospective observational study was designed to assess the principal working process in the CIVAS centre of a provincial healthcare setting. Errors in the main working process were identified, and intervention measures were formulated. The pharmacist intervention effect was evaluated by assessing the identification rate of improper prescriptions; the incidence rate of drug preparation, compounding, packaging and delivery process errors; and expenditures on wasteful drugs. There was a higher identification rate for improper prescriptions after the intervention (P < 0.05), while the incidence of drug preparation (P < 0.05), admixture (P < 0.05), and packaging and delivery errors (P < 0.01) was significantly lower; the total wasteful medication expenditure was also dramatically reduced. The potential creativity of pharmacists in error control can provide dependable intravenous drugs for patients and reduce the running expenditures for CIVAS.