Adverse-drug-reaction reporting by pharmacy students in a teaching hospital

Purpose. Adverse-drug-reaction (ADR) reporting by pharmacy students in a teaching hospital is described. Summary. Faculty and pharmacy staff collaborated to modify the existing data collection form for suspected ADRs. During the orientation session for each new rotation, pharmacy students received an overview of ADRs, ADR trigger medications, and the hospital's ADR reporting program. Pharmacy students collected ADR data by prospectively and retrospectively reviewing inpatient charts for suspected ADRs that were identified through various means. The students were responsible for completely and accurately documenting all aspects of the suspected ADRs. At least once a week, patient charts were requested to aid students in their investigation of suspected ADRs. Data from patient cases involving allergy-related ADRs were confirmed and updated in the hospital's computer system. All documented ADRs were entered into a spreadsheet for the purpose of generating quarterly reports. Report data were analyzed by faculty and students to identify hospitalwide trends in an effort to develop new ADR prevention strategies. Pharmacy student involvement with the ADR process began in January 2006. A total of 310 ADRs were documented for 2006, compared with 42 for 2005, when pharmacy students were not involved in data collection. ADR reports also led to allergy updates for 42 patients. With students collecting and analyzing ADR data, the hospital was able to recognize those medications that commonly caused ADRs and track hospitalwide trends in an effort to target new initiatives to prevent their occurrence. Conclusion. Pharmacy student participation in the ADR reporting program led to a significant increase in the number of ADRs documented.