Outcomes of Pharmacy Interventions on Pediatric Medication Prescribing Patterns in Taiwan

Background/Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the long-term effect of pharmacy interventions on patients and health care providers, and switching from prescribing extemporaneous powder dosage forms to liquid dosage forms. Methods: An education program for parents was conducted. An attitude, knowledge and behavior questionnaire was employed to measure the efficacy of the education program. Medication management policies were then executed by providing an in-service to pediatricians, establishing dosage-switching guidelines and adding liquid dosage forms of necessary medications into the hospital formulary. Dosage-switching guidelines of pediatric medications were established by surveying the most prescribed extemporaneous powder dosage forms at the Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital. These guidelines were introduced to every pediatrician, nurse and pharmacist. The prescribing rate of extemporaneous powder prescriptions was monitored to measure the outcomes of the interventions. Results: The mean scores of attitude, knowledge and practice significantly improved towards a positive use of commercially available liquid medications after the patient education program for the parents. Prescriptions for extemporaneous powder dosage forms significantly decreased from 1600 (2.54%) to 13 (0.022%) monthly in the 4th year and were reduced to zero in the 6th year. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the pharmacists' interventions were able to change the parents' knowledge, attitude and practice towards pediatric drug dosage forms and the prescribing pattern. Effective assurance in children's medication safety can be achieved through collaboration between medical professionals and parents.