Abstract

CUBA VENEREO, María de las Mercedes et al. Design and evaluation of an accreditation system for the hospital pharmaceutical services in Cuba. Rev Cubana Farm [online]. 2011, vol.45, n.3, pp.389-404. ISSN 0034-7515.

The mission of the hospital pharmacies is to assure the optimal drug therapy to the patient. To fulfil this purpose, it is required to implement a quality assurance program for the permanent improvement and to have the Accreditation Manual and the quality requirements in place to apply this type of programs. The objective of this paper was to lay down the strategy to be followed for the implementation of an Accreditation Program directed to Hospital Pharmacy Services in Cuba, through the preparation and evaluation of an Accreditation Manual and a Quality Indicator Guide adapted to the national setting. They were both prepared after consulting the corresponding programs of international institutions and from Argentina, Spain and Brazil. The design of the manual and the program in effect in Cuba for the hospital accreditation were taken into account in addition to selecting process-based quality indicators as fundamental tools in the quality assessment. Panels of experts evaluated the two research works with the Delphy method. The applicability and feasibility of these results in a secondary care hospital of Havana were corroborated. Twenty five Cuban experts reviewed and evaluated the Accreditation Manual, who also selected the best suitable indicators adjusted to the functions of the Cuban hospital pharmacies. For the preparation of the quality indicators, it was necessary to carry out a process of changes covering the particularities of the service to which they are intended to. Eleven processes and 58 quality indicators applicable to the Cuban context were identified. In the pharmaceutical service of the selected hospital under the pilot study, 9 processes were evaluated and 28 indicators were measured. Thirteen indicators achieved the highest level of performance, 6 were considered acceptable, 5 had to be improved whereas 4 indicators were unacceptable. The results of this pilot study proved the applicability and feasibility of the Accreditation Manual and of the Quality Indicator Guide for the hospital pharmacy services developed in this study since they were prepared using the ordinary information and controls under the regulation of the National Division of Pharmacies, the ruling body in this activity nationwide.

Keywords : quality in hospital pharmacy; quality indicators; hospital pharmacy accreditation.

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