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PharmAlert — Clinical Decision Support

COMMUNITY PHARMACIES

A dispensing-stage check with the clinical context attached.

The pharmacy is the last point at which a prescribing error can be caught before it reaches the patient — and often the point with the least clinical context available.

The setting

A dispensing check happens against the prescription and whatever the pharmacy record holds. Pregnancy status, renal function and secondary care changes are frequently not visible, so the check is made without the information that would change it.

Where risk builds up

  • Pregnancy, where a medicine that is routine otherwise is contraindicated outright.
  • Over-the-counter sales alongside prescribed medicines the pharmacy can see but the prescriber could not.
  • Patients collecting from more than one pharmacy, where no single record is complete.
  • Duplicate therapy arriving from two different prescribers.

Where PharmAlert fits

PharmAlert attaches the clinical context to the dispensing check, so the pharmacist is deciding with the same information the prescriber had — or more. Findings carry a suggested alternative, which is what turns a query into a conversation with the prescriber.

A check for this setting

Dispensing check, pregnant patient, three medicines

Patient
F · 31 · eGFR 95 · pregnant
Medicines
3
CriticalPA-CON-001

Methotrexate · pregnancy

Methotrexate is a known teratogen and abortifacient. It is contraindicated throughout pregnancy.

Well documented · Established

SuggestedStop and seek urgent specialist review. Folate supplementation and obstetric input are usually needed.

CriticalPA-CON-002

ACE inhibitor · pregnancy

ACE inhibitors cause fetal renal injury, oligohydramnios and skeletal defects, particularly in the second and third trimesters.

Well documented · Established

SuggestedLabetalol or nifedipine are usual alternatives in pregnancy — confirm against local obstetric guidance.

2 risks · 2 critical

Demonstration only, using fictional patients. Not for clinical use.

What a pilot involves

SCOPE
A small group of branches, with a named responsible pharmacist.
INTEGRATION
Embedded panel in the patient medication record system.
MEASURES
Interventions made, prescriber queries raised, and outcomes of those queries.
DURATION
Roughly fifteen weeks from scoping to joint evaluation.

Tell us about your setting.

We will come back with what a pilot would look like for you.

Request a pilot