WPSC Medication Blog | Washington Patient Safety Coalition

Medication Safety Champion, CHI Franciscan

This month’s ongoing Medication Safety Champion blog series, features Faylynn Auston and Sue West of Franciscan, St. Joes Medical Center. Q: What have been the biggest advancements in the medication safety work being done at your organization? A: In 2010, CHI Franciscan launched the Medication Reconciliation Technician (MRT) pilot program in the Emergency Department at St. Joseph Medical Center. The program was started with two technicians, each covering ten hour shifts seven days per week. After seeing the benefit of staffing MRTs in the ED at St. Joseph, we have further expanded our program to our sister hospitals in the region including St. Clare Hospital, St. Anthony Hospital and St. Frances Hospital. Each of these facilities currently staff two technicians each covering ten hours per day, seven days a week in their Emergency Department. Since the launching of the program, St. Joseph’s Medical Center has not only added two more MRT positions in the Emergency Department covering evening hours but has also expanded into the surgical centers creating two more MRT positions. It is an exciting time at CHI Franciscan with the expansion of the MRT program. There are great benefits to adding these new positions, first and foremost being patient safety. Having a dedicated team of MRTs for medication reconciliation allows nursing staff to focus more on direct patient care and minimizes the risk of wrong medications/doses being entered into the patient’s chart. Through the expansion of the program, our goal is to have all admitted patients’ medications reconciled by MRTs and reviewed by pharmacists, resulting not only in a more accurate list but potentially preventing adverse drug events. The medication reconciliation process is considered complete when the patients’ medications are verified through two steps. First, we obtain medication history from a reliable source such as pharmacy or their insurance company. Then, the medication list is verified by going over each medication with the patient or the primary caregiver. Here at CHI Franciscan we use the electronic health record program EPIC. This program gives us the capability to link with other non-CHI facilities that also use EPIC allowing MRTs to view patients’ records from multiple facilities. EPIC also has the capacity to pull records from outpatient prescription history showing what medications were filled at local pharmacies; this information includes, pharmacy name, location, medication, dose, quantity and day supply. This allows us to gather accurate medication records in...

Medication Safety Champions: Marian Dobles and Sandy Chun

The Washington Patient Safety Coalition has been striving to highlight the efforts of those on the front line of medication safety. We have also begun new outreach efforts to students within the medical and public health fields, to engage them around patient safety. In this month’s “Medication Safety Champions” blog, we feature two University of Washington pharmacy students expressing their hopes for the role of pharmacy in medication safety work. Student: Marian Dobles, PharmD student, Univeristy of Washington Q: What are some of the best tools, practices, or educational materials that you use to increase medication adherence, community awareness or patient engagement around medication safety? A: The best tool within my internship setting is access to patient charts. This, along with being mindful of when the medication was last dispensed, helps me identify potential adherence issues. I print a medication list from the patient chart, as well as a calendar, so the patient can keep track with an up-to-date and complete list of their medications. I also ask patients for an accurate list of their supplements, vitamins, and over the counter medications, so that I can add it to their chart and to their medication list. I engage the patient by filling in a medication wallet-card with them, and assisting them in filling out their calendars. For a lot of older patients, I have found that offering to set up daily reminders on their smart phones have been very useful. Q: If youʼre currently a pharmacist, what tips and would you give those who are beginning their Pharmacy studies, or just entering the field? If you are a Pharmacy student or just entering the pharmacy field, what excites you the most about the future of the profession? A: The future of the profession is currently changing, especially with the ever-increasing role of pharmacists as providers. I think the career of pharmacy is expanding into new roles, and I am looking forward to finding and creating a niche that fills the needs within my community. As an aspiring pharmacist, I am looking forward to being able to provide patient care and making a difference in patient lives. Student: Sandy Chun, PharmD Student, University of Washington Q: If youʼre currently a pharmacist, what tips and would you give those who are beginning their Pharmacy studies, or just entering the field? If you are a Pharmacy student or just entering...

Medication Safety Champion: Dalila Troyer

In celebration of National Pharmacist Month, the Washington Patient Safety Coalition is featuring an ongoing series of blogs from clinicians on the front line of medication reconciliation efforts. As October 20th was National Pharmacy Technician day, we are highlighting the roles that pharmacy technicians everywhere are playing in keeping patients safe through increased attention to medication safety. This week’s blog features an interview with Dalila Troyer, of MultiCare Health, on her role in medication safety. Q: What have been the biggest advancements in the medication safety work being done at your organization? Getting a new, dedicated medication reconciliation position in both adult and pediatric wards. We’re now able to complete the medication reconciliation process preemptively for everyone who is admitted. There are 2 medication technicians now, one who does all the emergency department patients and one who floats throughout the rest of the hospital. Also, getting Epic EHR has really helped keep everyone connected. Now, it’s easy to follow how, where, and what people are prescribed and what they’re buying. It also connects to other organizations, so we can look at patient charts from when they received care elsewhere. Q: How does your organization use other community resources, or marketing outlets (including social media) to engage the public around medication safety? Mostly we just engage via in-person contact, likely in the Emergency Department. It helps to have medication technicians be present in the ED and in inpatient wards, because you become engaged and familiar with patients on another level. This relationship with patients isn’t directly about the clinical care they’re receiving, it is about wanting to know more about them as individuals. So we find that patients really respond well to this and they really feel more invested in. Q: What have the biggest setbacks been for you in advancing medication safety at your organization, and what would you suggest to an individual experiencing the same barriers in their medication safety work? Workload remains the biggest issue. We sometimes don’t have the ability to get everyone’s information. Also, Epic software has some barriers. It allows clinicians to close out a patient’s electronic medication list even if the list may not be complete with dosage, dates, or drug frequency. Q: What are some of the best tools, practices, or educational materials that you use to increase adherence or patient engagement around medication safety? The EHR. It really helps us stay...

« Older Entries