Managing the adverse drug events can be as important as the life of an individual because we are in the same manner, talking about safety and any healthcare provider or hospital administration staff could not afford to miss this thing.
There are a lot of ways that could have been used in the case to reduce the adverse drug events and other conditions that could importantly affect the level of safety for not only the hospital clients but for the whole hospital as well. Having a low degree of safety, when publicized and reviewed could have a large impact on the hospital itself too.
In the case, one of the most effective measures they focused on to meet their goal was they did a scientific way of solving the problem. They identified the problem and the way it affects their system first. They started by using their so-called “trigger tool”. They used the said tool in reviewing the extent of harm and types of adverse drug events that are present in their hospital system.
After synthesizing the results of their review, they then set their goals to decrease their relatively high adverse drug event rate value. They then planned to achieve that goal by focusing both on present, reported actual and potential errors. This way, they can be quite sure that no further occurrence of adverse drug events will happen while they are trying to lessen their adverse drug event rate.
The team also improved the organization’s efficiency in collecting and monitoring things by establishing an adverse drug event hotline located in the pharmacy so that staff there could simultaneously monitor and investigate current and potential causes of such events. Lastly, they also managed to make use of the most important key in reducing their adverse drug reaction rate which is the medication reconciliation process. This process is basically done by comparing the present medication of the patient with the medications that he will take soon. One of the benefits of this system is that fragmentation of care brought about by transfer of a patient from one doctor to another could be lessened at some extent or in successful cases, eliminated.
Other means they used to cover their problem was that they increased the efficiency of their workforce in an organizational level. They did their monitoring and investigating procedures well and in a consistent manner.
They also implemented an improved version of the medication reconciliation system by focusing on all phases of medication: admission, transfer and discharge. Perhaps one of their most significant measures is their provision for cultural changes within the organization. Even though this step may seem less effective, it can still contribute by increasing the awareness of the whole hospital and thus, improve the overall safety level of the hospital.
References
Ransom, E. R., Joshi, M. S., Nash, D. B. & Ransom, S. B. (2008). The Healthcare Quality Book: Vision, Health Administration Press.
Strategy and Tools 2nd Edition.
