Since starting in December last year, the ED-based pharmacist has reduced potential medication discrepancies by almost 75% and is saving admitting doctors an average of 15-18 minutes per patient, according to hospital data from January. That increased to almost 20 minutes per patient in February.
It comes at a time when all hospital emergency departments are being set an ultimate target of processing 90% of ED patients within six hours of first presentation.
In Dunedin, the role of ED pharmacist is held by Emily Reichardt, a recently graduated and registered pharmacist.
She works alongside ED doctors to streamline the process by ensuring patients receive the right medication and advice before seeing a doctor.
‘‘It’s different, but I’m really enjoying it,’’ Ms Reichardt said.
‘‘I’m seeing patients a bit sooner in their hospital journey, and it’s varied work — I work with the medical doctors that come down to ED and also occasionally when the ED doctors have someone they’d like me to see as well, I’ll do that too.’’
ED pharmacists are slowly being rolled out across the country.
A spokesman for Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora said previously, ED doctors were responsible for taking medication histories, entering them into MedChart, and reviewing medicines. That occurred amid competing clinical demands.
‘‘With the ED pharmacist now undertaking this work, doctors can focus more of their time on diagnosis, treatment decisions and acute care,’’ the spokesman said.
Ms Reichardt, who graduated from the Auckland School of Pharmacy in 2022 and has spent time working in Nelson Hospital, said she had an interest in acute medicine work.
‘‘I think it would be good to see what the other hospitals around the country are doing because some of them already have established pharmacists there.
‘‘So it’d be good to check in with them and maybe get some notes there and get a bit more involved and see what the need is.’’
She was looking forward to seeing the work expand over time and said the ‘‘fast-paced’’ aspect of it appealed to her.
‘‘Just give it a go. Don’t think too much about it and just try it.’’
Dunedin Hospital emergency department pharmacy manager Craig MacKenzie said feedback from doctors had been overwhelmingly positive.
‘‘They describe the ED pharmacist role as an invaluable intervention that improves efficiency and patient safety at a time when ED resources are under significant pressure.’’
