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Background. Drug-related errors can compromise patient care, increase health care costs, and, in worst case scenarios, result in patient deaths. Objective. To evaluate the incidence and contributing factors of medication dispensing errors in community pharmacy settings reported to the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy (NHBOP). Methods. Medication errors reported to the NHBOP from February 1, 2007, to July 31, 2012, in a community pharmacy setting were reviewed. Quality Related Event Report (QRER), a standardized form developed by the NHBOP, was used to record the errors. The QRER allows collection of information related to the error, including time, date, type of error, and contributing environmental factors. Results. There were a total of 68 reported errors. The majority of errors (40%) involved dispensing an incorrect medication; 31% involved incorrect doses, and 12% involved incorrect directions. A majority of the errors involved new prescriptions (78%); 51% occurred during the pharmacist final check stage and 26% occurred during the data entry phase of the initial processing of the prescription. A greater percentage of errors (68%) occurred when only 1 pharmacist was on duty versus 29% with 2 pharmacists on duty. Conclusions. Contributing factors for errors included high prescription volumes and lack of adequate pharmacist coverage. Increasing pharmacist overlap hours in stores with high prescription volumes and implementing a formal technician certification program to ensure the consistency in training quality could assist in decreasing medication errors and improving patient safety.

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Colistin is considered a last treatment option for multi-drug and extensively resistant Gram-negative infections. We aimed to assess the available data on the dosing strategy of colistin. A systematic review was performed to identify all published studies on the dose optimization of colistin. Grey literature and electronic databases were searched. Data were collected in a specified form and the quality of the included articles was then assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for cohort studies, the Cochrane bias tool for randomized clinical trials (RCT), and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical checklist for case reports. A total of 19 studies were included, of which 16 were cohort studies, one was a RCT, and two were case reports. A total of 18 studies proposed a dosing regimen for adults, while only one study proposed a dosing schedule for pediatric populations. As per the available evidence, a loading dose of 9 million international units (MIU) of colistin followed by a maintenance dose of 4.5 MIU every 12 h was considered the most appropriate dosing strategy to optimize the safety and efficacy of treatment and improve clinical outcomes. This review supports the administration of a loading dose followed by a maintenance dose of colistin in severe and life-threatening multi-drug Gram-negative bacterial infections.

Introduction As the number of unemployment among pharmacy graduates increases, the Saudi Ministry of Labor implemented extra measures to facilitate their training and hiring by the private sectors. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of data regarding pharmacy graduates’ work readiness (WR). Hence, we aim to assess their WR and identify predicting factors associated with WR among pharmacy graduates’ in Saudi Arabia. Methods A 46-item self-reported pre-validated anonymous work readiness scale (WRS) survey with a 5-point Likert scale was administered to pharmacy senior students and graduates using Qualtrics XM® survey tool over the month of May 2020. The main outcome was to assess WRS for pharmacy interns and graduates and identify factors associated with work readiness. Results A total of 617 participants have participated in this survey, out of which 46.5% were freshly graduated pharmacists and 19.6% were pharmacy interns. Most participants (82.3%) were PharmD candidates or graduates. Around two-third of participants (63%) have successfully completed all survey items. The maximum points scored was 223 out of 230, and the median overall score was found to be 175. There was no significant association with gender, age, or type of university regarding overall scores. However, a statistically significant odds ratio was observed with PharmD program type and previous pharmaceutical marketing training (OR = 1.778, 95% CI = 1.143–2.765: OR = 0.618, 95% CI = 0.432–0.884, respectively). Conclusion The overall median score shows a good work readiness level among pharmacy students/graduates in Saudi Arabia; however, PharmD program graduates exposed to advance pharmacy training, including the pharmaceutical marketing experience, have higher work readiness odds than Bpharm graduates. Further studies involving other related perspectives, such as stakeholders, employers, and preceptors, would give a clear image of pharmacy graduates’ job readiness levels.