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Successful Implementation of Medication Safety Initiatives in Rural Hospitals: The Role of Pharmacists and Technology
This project will assess the capacity of rural hospitals to implement medication safety practices that reduce the likelihood of serious adverse drug events, and identify factors that facilitate successful implementation of medication safety practices in rural hospitals. The project will focus on two key aspects of rural hospitals' capacity to implement medication safety initiatives: pharmacist staffing and the availability of technology.
This project is national in scope and will have relevance for policymaking at the federal, state and local levels. The project will include analysis of primary data from a phone survey of a national sample of rural hospitals and secondary data from the AHA Annual Survey and Area Resource File. The telephone survey will be developed based on a review of the literature on medication safety practices in hospitals and input from a rural hospital pharmacist advisory group. The survey will include questions regarding pharmacy staffing, the use of medication safety technology, and factors that have influenced successful implementation of medication safety practices in the hospital. A report on the project findings will be completed by the end of September 2005.
Publications
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Pharmacist Staffing and the Use of Technology in Small Rural Hospitals: Implications for Medication Safety (Brief)
Report Number: Policy Brief No. 1
Date: 01 / 2006
To assess the capacity of rural hospitals to implement medication safety practices that reduce the likelihood of serious adverse drug events, a national telephone survey of a random sample of rural hospitals was conducted in March to May 2005. A total of 387 hospitals responded to the survey for a response rate of 94.6 percent. Pharmacists were asked about the hospital's pharmacy staffing, use of technology, implementation of protocols and medication safety practices, and medication safety priorities. The results of this study indicate that many small rural hospitals have limited hours of on site pharmacist coverage. The majority of hospitals surveyed are using pharmacy computers, but a significant proportion either do not have a pharmacy computer or are not using it for clinical purposes. Implementation of protocols related to medication use and key medication safety practices are areas where small rural hospitals could improve. A full report is also available.
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Pharmacist Staffing and the Use of Technology in Small Rural Hospitals: Implications for Medication Safety (Full Report)
Author(s): Michelle M. Casey, Ira Moscovice, Gestur Davidson
Report Number: Working Paper No. 1
Date: 12 / 2005
To assess the capacity of rural hospitals to implement medication safety practices that reduce the likelihood of serious adverse drug events, a national telephone survey of a random sample of rural hospitals was conducted in March to May 2005. A total of 387 hospitals responded to the survey for a response rate of 94.6 percent. Pharmacists were asked about the hospital's pharmacy staffing, use of technology, implementation of protocols and medication safety practices, and medication safety priorities. The results of this study indicate that many small rural hospitals have limited hours of on site pharmacist coverage. The majority of hospitals surveyed are using pharmacy computers, but a significant proportion either do not have a pharmacy computer or are not using it for clinical purposes. Implementation of protocols related to medication use and key medication safety practices are areas where small rural hospitals could improve.
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Pharmacist Staffing, Technology Use and Implementation of Medication Safety Practices in Rural Hospitals
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice, Gestur Davidson
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 22(4), 321-330
Date: 2006
Reports the results of a study that assessed the capacity of small rural hospitals to implement medication safety practices, with a focus on pharmacist staffing and the availability of technology.
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