{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T11:52:50Z","timestamp":1782301970925,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,1]],"date-time":"2025-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756684800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,1]],"date-time":"2025-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1756684800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000155","name":"Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["1008-2020-0119"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1008-2020-0119"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000155","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["INQUIRY"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>This study examines medication home delivery incidents reported in community pharmacies before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medication home delivery incidents are defined as medication errors that occur during the transportation of medication to patients outside the pharmacy through shipping, courier, or pharmacy delivery services. The objective was to analyze trends over time and identify contributing factors to inform patient safety improvements. A retrospective analysis was conducted on medication home delivery incidents reported to a national Community Pharmacy Incident Reporting system, Pharmapod (a Think Research company). Reports from 4091 community pharmacies across 10 provinces and 2 Territories were reviewed, covering the period from January 1, 2019, to January 27, 2022. A total of 156 medication home delivery incidents were identified and analyzed. Of the 156 incidents, 55 (35%) occurred pre-COVID and 101 (65%) post-COVID. The most frequent incident type was delivery to the incorrect patient, which decreased from 52.8% to 32.7%. In contrast, privacy breaches increased significantly from 29.2% to 41.6%. Contributing factors include staffing distribution, lack of quality control or independent checks, environmental distraction, operational workflow gaps, and insufficient staff training. Medication home delivery incidents increased following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing emerging safety risks in pharmacy delivery practices. The shift in incident types and contributing factors highlights the need for improved verification protocols, enhanced privacy protections, and dedicated staff training. As home delivery services continue to expand, these findings underscore the importance of system-level interventions to safeguard medication safety in the community pharmacy setting.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00469580251375868","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,1]],"date-time":"2025-10-01T06:03:01Z","timestamp":1759298581000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Trends and Contributing Factors in Medication Home Delivery Incidents in Community Pharmacies Before and After COVID-19: A Retrospective Analysis"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"62","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5271-7394","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Beatrice","family":"Onwuka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Saint Mary\u2019s University, Halifax, NS, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5641-127X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paola A.","family":"Gonzalez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benoit","family":"Aubert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"HEC Montreal, QC, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Denis","family":"O\u2019Donnell","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Toronto (Alumni), ON, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8111-6651","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Neil J.","family":"MacKinnon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Augusta University, GA, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carla","family":"Beaton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmapod: A Think Research Company, Midhurst, ON, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3573-4613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"James R.","family":"Barker","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","unstructured":"Safer delivery of dispensed medication: final report. Pharmacy Safety [Internet]. April 2017. Accessed April 11 2023. https:\/\/pharmacysafety.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/05\/safer-delivery-of-dispensed-medication-final-april-2017.pdf"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","unstructured":"Amazon Pharmacy. Amazon [Internet]. 2020. Accessed April 12 2023. https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/b?ie=UTF8&node=23435487011"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","unstructured":"PocketPills: digital pharmacy for convenient prescription delivery. PocketPills [Internet]. 2018. Accessed June 9 2025. https:\/\/www.pocketpills.com\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","unstructured":"Mednow: online pharmacy and health services in Canada. Mednow [Internet]. 2019. 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Pharm J. 2017. Accessed April 11 2023. https:\/\/pharmaceutical-journal.com\/article\/news\/poor-medicines-delivery-practices-prompt-safety-review"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4102\/phcfm.v12i1.2449"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(07)61602-X"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0262887"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_19_2","unstructured":"Pharmacy delivery software: optimizing routes and tracking. Track-POD [Internet]. 2018. Accessed June 9 2025. https:\/\/www.track-pod.com\/blog\/pharmacy-delivery-software\/"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_20_2","unstructured":"Pharmacy delivery software: improving efficiency with route optimization. Routific [Internet]. 2012. 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