Introduction Medication errors are avoidable events that can occur at any stage of the medication use process. They are widespread in healthcare systems and are linked to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Several strategies have been studied to reduce their occurrence including different types of pharmacy-based interventions. One of the main pharmacist-led interventions is educational programs, which seem to have promising benefits. Objective To describe and compare various pharmacist-led educational interventions delivered to healthcare providers and to evaluate their impact qualitatively and quantitatively on medication error rates. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted through searching Cochrane Library, EBSCO, EMBASE, Medline and Google Scholar from inception to June 2020. Only interventional studies that reported medication error rate change after the intervention were included. Two independent authors worked through the data extraction and quality assessment using Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool (CCAT). Summary odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model for rates of medication errors. Research protocol is available in The International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under the registration number CRD42019116465. Results Twelve studies involving 115058 participants were included. The two main recipients of the educational interventions were nurses and resident physicians. Educational programs involved lectures, posters, practical teaching sessions, audit and feedback method and flash cards of high-risk abbreviations. All studies included educational sessions as part of their program, either alone or in combination with other approaches, and most studies used errors encountered before implementing the intervention to inform the content of these sessions. Educational programs led by a pharmacist were associated with significant reductions in the overall rate of medication errors occurrence (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.22 to 0.65). Conclusion Pharmacist-led educational interventions directed to healthcare providers are effective at reducing medication error rates. This review supports the implementation of pharmacist-led educational intervention aimed at reducing medication errors.

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Background Routine utilization of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is an effective strategy to optimize patient care and reduce practice variation. Healthcare professionals’ failure to adhere to CPGs introduces risks to both patients and the sustainability of healthcare systems. The integration of theory to investigate adherence provides greater insight into the often complex reasons for suboptimal behaviors. Aim To determine the coverage of literature surrounding the use of theory in studies of CPG adherence, report the key findings and identify the knowledge gaps. Method In April 2021, three bibliographic databases were searched for studies published since January 2010, adopting theory to investigate health professionals’ adherence to CPGs. Two reviewers independently screened the articles for eligibility and charted the data. A narrative approach to synthesis was employed. Results The review includes 12 articles. Studies were limited to primarily investigations of physicians, quantitative designs, single disease states and few countries. The use of behavioral theories facilitated pooling of data of barriers and facilitators of adherence. The domains and constructs of a number of the reported theories are captured within the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF); the most common barriers aligned with the TDF domain of environmental context and resources, fewer studies reported facilitators. Conclusion There is emerging use of behavioral theories investigating physicians’ adherence to CPGs. Although limited in number, these studies present specific insight into common barriers and facilitators, thus providing valuable evidence for refining existing and future implementation strategies. Similar investigations of other health professionals are warranted.

Background: Medication errors are avoidable events that could occur at any stage of the medication use process. They are widespread in the healthcare system and are associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Implementing a clinical pharmacist is one strategy that is believed to reduce medication errors in the general population including pediatric patients who are more vulnerable to medication errors due to several contributing factors including the challenges of weight-based dosing. Aim: The aim of this study is to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacist interventions on medication error rates for hospitalized pediatric patients. Methodology: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Google Scholar search engines were searched from database inception to February 2019. Study selection, data extraction and quality assessment was conducted by two independent reviewers. Observational and interventional studies were included. Data extraction was done manually and the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool (CCAT) was used to critically appraise eligible articles. Summary odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model for rates of medication errors. Results: A total of 19 studies were systematically reviewed and 6 studies (29 291 patients) were included in the meta-analysis. Pharmacist interventions involved delivering educational sessions, reviewing prescriptions, attending rounds and implementing a unit-based clinical pharmacist. The systematic review showed that the most common trigger for pharmacist interventions was inappropriate dosing. Pharmacist involvement was associated with significant reductions in the overall rate of medication errors occurrence (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.49). Conclusion: The most common cause for pharmacist interventions in pediatric patients at hospital settings was inappropriate dosing. Overall, pharmacist interventions are effective at reducing medication error rates.