Practice-enhancing publications about the medication-use process in 2024

Abstract

Purpose: This article identifies, prioritizes, and summarizes published literature on the medication-use process (MUP) from calendar year 2024 that can impact health-system pharmacy daily practice. The MUP is the foundational system that provides the framework for safe medication utilization within the healthcare environment. The MUP is defined in this article as having the following components: prescribing/transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring. Articles evaluating at least one step of the MUP were assessed for their usefulness toward practice improvement. Summary: A PubMed search was conducted in January 2025 for articles published in calendar year 2024 using targeted Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords, and table of contents searches of selected pharmacy journals were performed, providing a total of 5,893 articles. A thorough review identified 45 potentially practice-enhancing articles: 10 for prescribing/transcribing, 15 for dispensing, 8 for administration, and 12 for monitoring. The trends from the articles are briefly summarized, with a mention of the importance within health system pharmacy. The articles are listed and summarized in tables for further review and evaluation. Conclusion: It is important to routinely review the published literature and to incorporate significant findings into daily practice. This article assists in identifying and summarizing those most impactful. Health-system pharmacists have an active role in improving the MUP in their institution, and awareness of the most significant published studies can assist in changing practice at the institutional level.