Balancing Regulations Related to Medication Management, Pharmacy Practice Initiatives, Complexity of Health-Systems, Available Resources, and Patient Safety

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 592-593
Author(s):  
Karen Vitacolonna Falk
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 498-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Rough ◽  
Rita Shane ◽  
John A Armitstead ◽  
Sylvia M Belford ◽  
Philip W Brummond ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The high-value pharmacy enterprise (HVPE) framework and constituent best practice consensus statements are presented, and the methods used to develop the framework’s 8 domains are described. Summary A panel of pharmacy leaders used an evidence- and expert opinion–based approach to define core and aspirational elements of practice that should be established within contemporary health-system pharmacy enterprises by calendar year 2025. Eight domains of an HVPE were identified: Patient Care Services; Business Services; Ambulatory and Specialty Pharmacy Services; Inpatient Operations; Safety and Quality; Pharmacy Workforce; Information Technology, Data, and Information Management; and Leadership. Phase 1 of the project consisted of the development of draft practice statements, performance elements, and supporting evidence for each domain by panelists, followed by a phase 2 in-person meeting for review and development of consensus for statements and performance elements in each domain. During phase 3, the project cochairs and panelists finalized the domain drafts and incorporated them into a full technical report and this summary report. Conclusion The HVPE framework is a strategic roadmap to advance pharmacy practice by ensuring safe, effective, and patient-centered medication management and business practices throughout the health-system pharmacy enterprise. Grounded in evidence and expert recommendations, the statements and associated performance elements can be used to identify strategic priorities to improve patient outcomes and add value within health systems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R Murphy ◽  
Ashley ND Meyer ◽  
Dean F Sittig ◽  
Derek W Meeks ◽  
Eric J Thomas ◽  
...  

Progress in reducing diagnostic errors remains slow partly due to poorly defined methods to identify errors, high-risk situations, and adverse events. Electronic trigger (e-trigger) tools, which mine vast amounts of patient data to identify signals indicative of a likely error or adverse event, offer a promising method to efficiently identify errors. The increasing amounts of longitudinal electronic data and maturing data warehousing techniques and infrastructure offer an unprecedented opportunity to implement new types of e-trigger tools that use algorithms to identify risks and events related to the diagnostic process. We present a knowledge discovery framework, the Safer Dx Trigger Tools Framework, that enables health systems to develop and implement e-trigger tools to identify and measure diagnostic errors using comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) data. Safer Dx e-trigger tools detect potential diagnostic events, allowing health systems to monitor event rates, study contributory factors and identify targets for improving diagnostic safety. In addition to promoting organisational learning, some e-triggers can monitor data prospectively and help identify patients at high-risk for a future adverse event, enabling clinicians, patients or safety personnel to take preventive actions proactively. Successful application of electronic algorithms requires health systems to invest in clinical informaticists, information technology professionals, patient safety professionals and clinicians, all of who work closely together to overcome development and implementation challenges. We outline key future research, including advances in natural language processing and machine learning, needed to improve effectiveness of e-triggers. Integrating diagnostic safety e-triggers in institutional patient safety strategies can accelerate progress in reducing preventable harm from diagnostic errors.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (01) ◽  
pp. 55-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Ammenwerth ◽  
E. Roehrer ◽  
S. Pelayo ◽  
F. Vasseur ◽  
M.-C. Beuscart-Zéphir ◽  
...  

Summary Objectives: Previous research has shown that medication alerting systems face usability issues. There has been no previous attempt to systematically explore the consequences of usability flaws in such systems on users (i.e. usage problems) and work systems (i.e. negative outcomes). This paper aims at exploring and synthesizing the consequences of usability flaws in terms of usage problems and negative outcomes on the work system. Methods: A secondary analysis of 26 papers included in a prior systematic review of the usability flaws in medication alerting was performed. Usage problems and negative outcomes were extracted and sorted. Links between usability flaws, usage problems, and negative outcomes were also analyzed. Results: Poor usability generates a large variety of consequences. It impacts the user from a cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and attitudinal perspective. Ultimately, usability flaws have negative consequences on the workflow, the effectiveness of the technology, the medication management process, and, more importantly, patient safety. Only few complete pathways leading from usability flaws to negative outcomes were identified.Conclusion: Usability flaws in medication alerting systems impede users, and ultimately their work system, and negatively impact patient safety. Therefore, the usability dimension may act as a hidden explanatory variable that could explain, at least partly, the (absence of) intended outcomes of new technology.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. e048696
Author(s):  
Sarah Yardley ◽  
Sally-Anne Francis ◽  
Antony Chuter ◽  
Stuart Hellard ◽  
Julia Abernethy ◽  
...  

IntroductionApproximately 20% of serious safety incidents involving palliative patients relate to medication. These are disproportionately reported when patients are in their usual residence when compared with hospital or hospice. While patient safety incident reporting systems can support professional learning, it is unclear whether these reports encompass patient and carer concerns with palliative medications or interpersonal safety.AimTo explore and compare perceptions of (un)safe palliative medication management from patient, carer and professional perspectives in community, hospital and hospice settings.Methods and analysisWe will use an innovative mixed-methods study design combining systematic review searching techniques with cross-sectional quantitative descriptive analysis and interpretative qualitative metasynthesis to integrate three elements: (1) Scoping review: multiple database searches for empirical studies and first-hand experiences in English (no other restrictions) to establish how patients and informal carers conceptualise safety in palliative medication management. (2)Medication incidents from the England and Wales National Reporting and Learning System: identifying and characterising reports to understand professional perspectives on suboptimal palliative medication management. (3) Comparison of 1 and 2: contextualising with stakeholder perspectives.Patient and public involvementOur team includes a funded patient and public involvement (PPI) collaborator, with experience of promoting patient-centred approaches in patient safety research. Funded discussion and dissemination events with PPI and healthcare (clinical and policy) professionals are planned.Ethics and disseminationProspective ethical approval granted: Cardiff University School of Medicine Research Ethics Committee (Ref 19/28). Our study will synthesise multivoiced constructions of patient safety in palliative care to identify implications for professional learning and actions that are relevant across health and social care. It will also identify changing or escalating patterns in palliative medication incidents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Peer-reviewed publications, academic presentations, plain English summaries, press releases and social media will be used to disseminate to the public, researchers, clinicians and policy-makers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 06 (01) ◽  
pp. 136-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Gans ◽  
J. White ◽  
R. Nath ◽  
J. Pohl ◽  
C. Tanner

Summary Background: The role of electronic health records (EHR) in enhancing patient safety, while substantiated in many studies, is still debated. Objective: This paper examines early EHR adopters in primary care to understand the extent to which EHR implementation is associated with the workflows, policies and practices that promote patient safety, as compared to practices with paper records. Early adoption is defined as those who were using EHR prior to implementation of the Meaningful Use program. Methods: We utilized the Physician Practice Patient Safety Assessment (PPPSA) to compare primary care practices with fully implemented EHR to those utilizing paper records. The PPPSA measures the extent of adoption of patient safety practices in the domains: medication management, handoffs and transition, personnel qualifications and competencies, practice management and culture, and patient communication. Results: Data from 209 primary care practices responding between 2006–2010 were included in the analysis: 117 practices used paper medical records and 92 used an EHR. Results showed that, within all domains, EHR settings showed significantly higher rates of having workflows, policies and practices that promote patient safety than paper record settings. While these results were expected in the area of medication management, EHR use was also associated with adoption of patient safety practices in areas in which the researchers had no a priori expectations of association. Conclusions: Sociotechnical models of EHR use point to complex interactions between technology and other aspects of the environment related to human resources, workflow, policy, culture, among others. This study identifies that among primary care practices in the national PPPSA database, having an EHR was strongly empirically associated with the workflow, policy, communication and cultural practices recommended for safe patient care in ambulatory settings. Citation: Tanner C, Gans D, White J, Nath R, Pohl J. Electronic health records and patient safety – co-occurrence of early EHR implementation with patient safety practices in primary care settings. Appl Clin Inf 2015; 6: 136–147http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2014-11-RA-0099


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Elisa Hein ◽  
Bernard Vrijens ◽  
Mickael Hiligsmann

Introduction: Personalized medicine and management of adherence are potential solutions for the suboptimal use of medicines. Digital medication management innovations currently under development combine both aspects. This research aims to investigate facilitators for and barriers to the translation of digital innovations for personalized medicine and adherence management into clinical practice from the policymaker and regulator perspective.Methods: A mixed-method study was used combining a scoping review to identify main interests, semi-structured interviews (n = 5) with representatives of European health policymaking and regulatory organizations, and a supplementary literature review to investigate key subthemes. The SWOT analysis was used for the qualitative analysis.Results: The literature reviews and the qualitative interviews suggested that digital solutions can facilitate the personalized management of medications and improve quality and safety, especially as the openness for digital health solutions is increasing. Digital solutions may, on the other hand, add complexity to the treatment, which can be perceived as a potential barrier for their uptake. As more multidisciplinary and participative structures are emerging, digital solutions can promote the implementation of new services. Nevertheless, change progresses slowly in the task-oriented structures of health systems. Integration of digital solutions depends on all stakeholders' willingness and abilities to co-create this change. Patients have different capabilities to self-manage their medical conditions and use digital solutions. Personalization of digital health solutions and integration in existing service structures are crucial to ensure equality among population segments. Developments in the digital infrastructure, although they are partly slow and not well-aligned, enable the implementation of innovations in clinical practice leading to further advances in data generation and usage for future innovations.Discussion: This study suggests that digital solutions have the potential to facilitate high-quality medication management and improve adherence to medications, enable new service structures, and are essential to drive further innovations in health care. Nevertheless, increasing the self-responsibility of patients can have undesirable effects on health outcomes, especially within vulnerable population segments. Digital health solutions can be an opportunity to optimize the use of medicines and thus their efficiency. Well-conceived development and implementation processes are needed to also realize improvements in equality and solidarity within health systems.


2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 348-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sanborn ◽  
Tammy Cohen

The Director's Forum series is written and edited by Michael Sanborn and Robert Weber and is designed for guiding pharmacy leaders in establishing patient-centered services in hospitals and health systems. Another specific goal of this column is addressing many of the key challenges that pharmacy directors currently face, while also providing information that will foster growth in pharmacy leadership and patient safety. Previous Director's Forum articles have discussed various aspects of pharmacy technology implementation and utilization. This feature focuses on the effective integration of smart pump technology to maximize patient safety benefits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marléne Lindblad ◽  
Maria Unbeck ◽  
Lena Nilsson ◽  
Kristina Schildmeijer ◽  
Mirjam Ekstedt

Abstract Background Patient safety in home healthcare is largely unexplored. No-harm incidents may give valuable information about risk areas and system failures as a source for proactive patient safety work. We hypothesized that it would be feasible to retrospectively identify no-harm incidents and thus aimed to explore the cumulative incidence, preventability, types, and potential contributing causes of no-harm incidents that affected adult patients admitted to home healthcare. Methods A structured retrospective record review using a trigger tool designed for home healthcare. A random sample of 600 home healthcare records from ten different organizations across Sweden was reviewed. Results In the study, 40,735 days were reviewed. In all, 313 no-harm incidents affected 177 (29.5%) patients; of these, 198 (63.2%) no-harm incidents, in 127 (21.2%) patients, were considered preventable. The most common no-harm incident types were “fall without harm,” “deficiencies in medication management,” and “moderate pain.” The type “deficiencies in medication management” was deemed to have a preventability rate twice as high as those of “fall without harm” and “moderate pain.” The most common potential contributing cause was “deficiencies in nursing care and treatment, i.e., delayed, erroneous, omitted or incomplete treatment or care.” Conclusion This study suggests that it is feasible to identify no-harm incidents and potential contributing causes such as omission of care using record review with a trigger tool adapted to the context. No-harm incidents and potential contributing causes are valuable sources of knowledge for improving patient safety, as they highlight system failures and indicate risks before an adverse event reach the patient.


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