Prescriber satisfaction with medication history technicians within a transitions of care program

Introduction:

Obtaining an accurate medication history during admission is integral to patient care to prevent errors and adverse outcomes. The utilization of pharmacy technicians to obtain medication histories upon admission was implemented at our institution as part of a pharmacy-driven transitions of care program in May 2015.

Objectives:

To evaluate prescribers’ satisfaction with the medication history technician program at admission, assess our current practices, and make improvements to optimize the transitions of care process.

Study Design:

This was a single-center, prospective study, conducted between September and November 2015 in a community, teaching hospital. Institutional review board exemption was obtained.

Methods:

Prescribers were surveyed to assess their satisfaction with medication history technicians and their role in the medication reconciliation process. The survey consisted of a combination of dichotomous and Likert-type questions for prescribers to evaluate different components of the program.

Results:

A total of 30 prescribers participated in the survey. The primary outcome, overall prescriber satisfaction, was reported as a median score of 4.5 out of 5, indicating that prescribers are highly satisfied with the program. Secondary outcomes indicated that prescribers found the technicians to be reliable, efficient, convenient, and preferred utilizing them to obtain a home medication history rather than obtaining it themselves. Responses also identified areas for improvement. Many prescribers were unfamiliar with the technicians’ staffing hours. Forty percent of prescribers were unaware that part of the technicians’ duty is to document notes regarding specific issues, such as noncompliance or discrepancies. Additionally, thirty-three percent of prescribers did not find it easy to contact the technicians.

Conclusions:

Overall, the prescribers were highly satisfied with the medication history technician program. To further improve the program, our next steps will be to re-educate prescribers about the services, contact information, and schedule of technicians, and expand the service hours of the program to allow for more comprehensive coverage.