Patient Perception of Medication Communications in the Hospital: The Role of the Pharmacist.

The patient experience in the hospital has become an increasingly important measure of how well a healthcare system functions. Poor experiences as reported by patients have been associated with decreased compliance to medication instructions as well as increased recovery time from illness. While other studies have demonstrated the benefit of pharmacist counseling during patient discharge, the benefit of pharmacist intervention during the patient's hospital stay remains to be seen.

Medication errors in HIV-infected hospitalized patients: a pharmacist's impact.

Background: Treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) decreases morbidity and mortality associated with HIV infection. Unfortunately, HAART medication errors are prevalent in hospitalized patients with HIV infection. Appropriate regimen administration and adherence are essential for treatment success.

Evaluation of appropriate serologic testing for suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

Purpose: The predictive value of clinical "4-T's" scoring in patient selection for serologic testing to confirm suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) was evaluated.

Methods: In a chart review-based study at a large hospital, all adult inpatients who underwent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing for HIT-antibody detection during a two-year period were identified. Scoring of the 4 T's (degree of thrombocytopenia, timing of symptom onset, presence of thrombosis or other sequelae, and other potential causes) was retrospectively performed on a random sample of cases (n = 70) by three pharmacist investigators.