# \[e-drug\] Improving medicines management. What works best? **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [July 22, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-improving-medicines-management-what-works-best/20162 "2004-07-22T05:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![david.woods](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@david.woods](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/david.woods)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-improving-medicines-management-what-works-best/20162/1 "2004-07-22T05:23:30Z")
E-drug: Improving medicines management. What works best? ---------------------------------------------   Dear e-druggers I was wondering if anyone has come across, authored or researched the use of guidelines for improving medicines management in hospital pharmacies in developing countries ? Specifically I am interested in the ward or patient level rather than the wider issues of supply management etc. Many developed countries now have dedicated clinical pharmacy services. Such services are less common in developing countries and many hospitals do not even have a pharmacist on site even for basic supply functions. It will be many years before this situation changes although great strides are being made in some countries. In the meantime should we not research and advise what can be done at ward or institution level to prevent medicines related problems, adrs, errors ? Could priorities be identified that would have the maximum impact with minimum resources ?. Even the basics such as administration of potassium chloride injection, identifying high risk patients, reconstitution and storage of injections. Studies in developed countries have shown that "medicines related problems" is a significant "disease" not far behind the major killers and causes of morbidity. Until the pharmacists role is fully recognised internationally can progress be made in improving medicines management in hospitals, and if so how ? Regards, David Woods Consultant Pharmacist University of Otago Dunedin NEW ZEALAND david.woods@stonebow.otago.ac.nz -- To send a message to E-Drug, write to: e-drug@healthnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org in the body of the message type: subscribe e-drug OR unsubscribe e-drug To contact a person, send a message to: e-drug-help@healthnet.org Information and archives: [http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug](http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug)