Background: Incomplete or inaccurate drug-allergy histories can significantly increase the risk of patient harm. Due to the infrastructure and varying uses for software within Queensland Health, not all information will be carried through from one system to the next. CHARM is a stand-alone system used to prescribe anti-cancer therapy and supportive medicine in the cancer space- allergies are manually input into CHARM by users.
Aims: To improve allergy recording rates in CHARM prescribing software.
Methods: all patients receiving anti-cancer therapy or supportive therapy in CHARM during a 28-day audit period were analysed across both CHARM and iPharmacy to determine consistency and accuracy of allergy recording across the systems. Subsequent nursing and pharmacist education sessions will be implemented to support staff in competency to enter allergy information in CHARM. A survey will be conducted with health professionals partaking in the education sessions to explore barriers and enablers to routine allergy recording in CHARM. A post-interventional audit will be carried out over a subsequent 28-day period to determine the % improvement in allergy recording.
Results: In the pre-interventional audit, 544 Patient profiles were analysed. 27% of patients had complete allergy information recorded in CHARM. iPharmacy recordings were observed in 39% of patients. When looking at patients confirmed as having Nil Known Allergies (NKA), 1.5% of patient profiles in charm and 3% of patient profiles in iPharmacy had documentation recorded. The interventional period will be underway in August 2024, with repeat auditing to be carried out in October 2024 to present at COSA ASM.
Conclusions: COSA guidelines for the Safe Prescribing, Supply and Administration of Cancer Chemotherapy stipulate that patient allergies are among the list of information that must be included on a chemotherapy order. Through education and promotion of best practice, our centre target is to reach 100% allergy recording in CHARM.