Risk indicators of preventable morbidity related to drug utilization

Objective: To select clinical situations that can be used as risk indicators of preventable morbidity caused by drugs at the community pharmacies, and to study their acceptability, in terms of pertinence and relevance. Methods: We used the Delphi technique, in 2 rounds, by a panel of 14 medical doctors and pharmacists experts, to study the relevance of 68 types of clinical situations as risk indicators of preventable morbidity related to drug utilization used by health professionals in community pharmacies, with scientific evidence of foreseeable adverse result, frequent situations in ambulatory care and with controllable cause and result. Results: 43 of the 68 indicators were considered usable and pertinent. The indicators referred three areas: drug type (medications of narrow therapeutic margin, with individualized dose and adverse reactions frequent and severe), health problem (chronic problems, especially asthma, cardiac, thyroid and prostate illness, and pain), and patient (old or with several medications. Pharmacists systematically overvalued some indicators in relation to the doctors, but differences were not significant. Conclusions: Forty-three indicators were selected as valuable to identify situations of preventable morbidity related to drug utilization.