Assessing the Role of Pharmaceutical Technical Assistents in Hospital Wards: Measuring Efficiency and Medication Safety

The goal of this interventional study is to evaluate the impact of implementing pharmaceutical technical assistants (PTAs) to support the medication process on hospital wards on operational efficiency and medication safety among nurses and pharmaceutical technicial assistants. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What is the effect of PTAs on the time spent by (night) nurses on medication dispensation? * How does their involvement influence unplanned interactions between nursing staff and the pharmacy? * What is the impact of PTAs on the safety of medication processes, including missed or delayed doses, accuracy of dispensed medication, and reported medication errors? Researchers will compare periods with and without the involvement of PTAs in the medication management process on the hospital ward to assess differences in: * Time spent on medication dispensation. * Frequency of unplanned interactions between hospital wards and the pharmacy. * Rates of missed or delayed medication doses. * Accuracy of dispensed medication compared to prescriptions. * Reported medication errors. During the observed medication dispensation processes, involved nurses and PTAs will: * Be observed while preparing medications to measure time and interruptions. * Provide data on medication errors and delays through digital systems and reports. * Complete a demographic questionnaire about their professional background. This study involves both intervention and control periods, allowing researchers to measure the specific effects of PTAs' involvement in medication processes.

NCT Number	NCT06731387
Lead Sponsor	Vitaz Collaborators: Universiteit Antwerpen, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht
Conditions	Medication Safety, Time Efficiency, Interdepartmental Communication
Enrollment	53 participants
Start Date	2024-12-01
Primary Completion	2025-07-30 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-07-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-27