Evaluation of the prescripton profile of an hospital psychiatric ward

  • Mariana P. Costa Serviços Farmacêuticos, Centro Hospitalar de São João, Porto. Portugal
  • P. Carinha Serviços Farmacêuticos, Centro Hospitalar de São João, Porto. Portugal
  • P. Barata Serviços Farmacêuticos, Centro Hospitalar de São João, Porto. Portugal; Faculdade Ciências da Saúde. Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Porto. Portugal
Keywords: Medicine, Polipharmacology, Pharmacist, Adverse Reaction, Aging

Abstract

Introduction: As the population ages there is an increase need for certain groups of medication to maintain the individual’s quality of life. On one hand the use of several types of drugs is an important factor in maintaining the patients’ well-being, however on the other hand, these types of drug combinations can lead to various complications especially on psychiatric patients. In view of these problems, the pharmacist has been shown to be the most appropriate health career to minimize medication-related problems.

Methods: For 24 hours, the medical prescriptions of the patients admitted in this study were analyzed. A total of 235 patients were chosen.

Results and Discussion: In general, most of the services analyzed were in a situation of “excessive polypharmacy”, which can be attributed to the doctors need to prescribe multiple antipsychotics to treat psychiatric disorders. However, the effect of these combinations is yet to be more intensively studied.

Conclusion: After careful analysis of the results, the main conclusion is that pharmacists, due to their intensive drug knowledge, play a crucial role in the monitorization of the patient’s therapy.

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