Abstract
Background: The second victim phenomenon, denoting the harmful effects of patient safety incidents on healthcare practitioners, remains insufficiently examined within the pharmacy workforce.
Aim: This study aimed to investigate the second victim phenomenon in community pharmacies across Serbia, examining its triggers, contexts, and effects on pharmacists’ health, well-being, and implications towards pharmaceutical care.
Method: Thisconsensus study, involving 27 pharmacists with prior experience in the second victim phenomenon, employed the Nominal Group Technique in three groups. The final rank was calculated using the van Breda methodology, where the higher values present a higher impact. Statistical evaluation was applied to ascertain the distribution of events, investigate the potential relationships between event categories and patient outcomes, and determine the subsequent impact on pharmacists.
Results: "Patient-centric anxiety" (6.8) was the top mental health issue, followed by "Personal responsibility and resilience" and "Future concerns and career aspirations" (6.0 each). The dominant support was "Colleague/Peer support" (5.3). Significant patient safety incidents were "Inadequate pharmaceutical service" (8.0) and "Wrong drug dispensed" (7.8). In community pharmacies, 63.0% of incidents involved dispensing errors, with "near misses" or "no harm incidents" at 33.3% each and "harmful incidents" at 25.9%. Transcripts indicate that lack of supervision, crowding, and storage issues led to errors, highlighting the need for better dispensing verification and pharmacist training.
Conclusion: This study highlights the profound impact of the second victim phenomenon on pharmacists, which often stems from breaches in basic practice standards. Unmanaged, it worsens quality and safety in pharmaceutical care and severely threatens pharmacists' well-being.