Class of 2012 / Specific Aims: The goal of this project was to assess perceptions of medication reconciliation from medical professionals who perform them. Specific areas of interest included the perceived: amount of time spent on medication reconciliation; process complexity; and effectiveness of the current process. Opinions concerning the use of alternative processes were also solicited. Methods: This prospective qualitative study involved four focus group sessions at one tertiary referral teaching hospital in Tucson, Arizona. Nurses involved in admissions medication reconciliation in the emergency department were invited to participate, and their perceptions were categorized and summarized. Main Results: Participants reported a range of times to complete the medication reconciliation from zero to greater than 20 minutes. According to the participants, the time spent on each patient depended on patients’ medication knowledge and the complexity of their regimens. Participants wanted the medication list entry screen to be easier to use, and they also suggested patients’ medication lists from previous visits and from outpatient clinics associated with the medical center be easily accessible. Participants felt that emergency triage may not be the most ideal time in which to perform medication reconciliation, and they expressed concerns about accuracy of these medication lists. While some were interested in the possibility of using a patient medication database and expected that it would improve accuracy and save time, others were less open to a perceived additional step. Concusions: Participants provided suggestions for changes in the current medication reconciliation process that they feel could improve patient satisfaction and increase efficiency.

Class of 2008 Abstract / Objectives: To compare the completeness of patient medication history collected upon admission at the University Medical Center (UMC) in Tucson, Arizona with that collected by RxAccordTM insurance claims database. Methods: An inferential retrospective chart review. A random list of 300 patients admitted to UMC from January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2007 who utilized specific insurance companies was obtained. Of those 300 patients, the first 100 patients found in the RxAccordTM database were included in this study. UMC recorded admission medication history was noted for each patient and compared against the RxAccordTM retail pharmacy adjudicated medication database. The main outcome measured was the number of medication discrepancies. The independent variable was the type of medication reconciliation conducted (RxAccordTM ) vs. physician compiled upon admission to UMC. Results: A total of ninety-five charts were used in this study. UMC admission medication reconciliation records had an average of 2.21 missing medications per patient whereas RxAccordTM had an average of 1.01 missing medications per patient. Of the medications missing on the RxAccordTM database, almost 50% (46/96) were OTC medications. On average, UMC had fifty-one medications that had discrepancies (i.e. route, strength or directions). On the other hand, RxAccordTM contained no discrepancies. A total of 17 out 95 records (18%) were missing medication reconciliation forms in their medical record. Conclusions: Information collected by RxAccordTM produced a more complete patient medication reconciliation history than that compiled upon admission at UMC. An insurance claims database may provide, a significantly more accurate method of medication reconciliation.

Class of 2007 Abstract / Objectives: Medication reconciliation is a formal process of obtaining a complete and accurate list of each patient’s current home medications. This process is done to prevent errors of omission, therapeutic duplication, dosing/frequency errors, or drug-drug/drug-disease interactions. As of January 1, 2006, University Medical Center (UMC) implemented a new, comprehensive medication reconciliation form which was intended to prevent medication-related discrepancies upon admission. The purpose of this study was to compare the percent of missing required prescription information upon hospital admission before and after the implementation of the medication reconciliation form. Methods: This study was an inferential retrospective chart review of patients admitted to UMC in Tucson, Arizona, between January 1, 2005 and August 1, 2006. While the overall goal was to measure the impact of a new medication reconciliation form on the completeness of a patient's medication history, the specific study objectives were to: (1) evaluate medication reconciliation form utilization and compliance and (2) compare the completeness of medication information upon hospital admission before and after the implementation of the comprehensive medication reconciliation form. Patients were included in the study if they were over 18 years of age and admitted to UMC at least once in 2005, and at least once between January 1, 2006 and August 1, 2006. The following patients were excluded: patients that were institutionalized in an assisted living facility or nursing home, admitted to the emergency room, intubated, transferred to the hospital from a nursing home or a long term care facility, and discharged from the hospital within 24 hours of admit. Two hundred and thirty-four patients, who met the inclusion criteria, were randomly selected from a UMC hospital census. The researchers reviewed each medical chart and recorded the physician-reported medication history, reason for admit, length of stay, and demographic information. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was completed using SPSS Version 11.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). After collecting the data, counts were taken on missing prescription information, such as missing medication names, dose, route, and frequencies. If the collected data were normally distributed and were interval/ratio level data, a paired t- test was used for analysis. If the data were not normally distributed or were of nominal/ordinal level, a McNemar test was used. An a priori alpha level of 0.05 was used for all statistical tests. Results: A total of 234 patients were included in both the pre and post analysis. Approximately 53.8% of the sample was male. Fifty-one percent of the population was categorized as white in the patient’s chart. The average age at time of first admit was 50.3 years. Fifty-three percent of the population had a past medical history that included cardiovascular disease. Over 28% of the patients in the sample had diabetes and over 18% had pulmonary disease. The most common admit diagnoses for the population included shortness of breath, chest pain, and abdominal pain. Medication reconciliation forms were found in the chart 71.4% of the time. Of the 71.4% of the forms present in the patient’s medical chart, the form was utilized 66.6% of the time. The percentage of allergies recorded in the patient’s chart decreased from 89.3% before implementation of the form to 65.9% after implementation. This movement repeated itself with the recording of social history, which fell from 92.3% recorded before the form to 52.6% after implementation. Introduction of the new medication reconciliation form at UMC resulted in significantly fewer drug names missing, incorrect, or illegible from the patient’s medication history between pre and post (p=0.034), as well as a greater amount of medications recorded in the patient’s medication history (p=0.006). However, the use of the form did not result in significant differences between pre and post in the route, frequency, and dosing information being recorded. It also did not result in a significantly greater amount of non- prescription drugs recorded. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate the need for a systematic approach to ensure the process of obtaining accurate medication histories at the time of hospital admission. Utilization of a new comprehensive medication reconciliation form in this academic institution is far from optimal, and could have significant healthcare implications. Better methods of ensuring medication reconciliation at the time of hospital admission are needed.

Medication therapy is the most prevalent and critical intervention of health delivery and the source of most errors in healthcare. Medication errors and associated adverse drug events (ADE) have serious health and economic ramifications, and in elderly patients ADE are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Medication reconciliation is the process of evaluating current medication treatment to manage the risk and optimize the outcomes of medication treatment by detecting, solving, and preventing ADEs. This education project answered the question whether education provided to long term care staff would improve knowledge of medication reconciliation and be retained over time. The education program was developed through results of a literature search to identify evidence-based standards for medication reconciliation. The guiding theory for program was Kurt Lewin's theory of planned change. The test was developed on the medication reconciliation content and arrangements made for each of the 30 participants who were RNs, LPNs, and CMAs to take the test before and after the education program and again at 30 and 45 days. Results showed statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05) with knowledge of medication reconciliation retained at 30- and 45-days post intervention. Positive social change is possible as nurses and CMAs in the long-term care facility use the knowledge of medication reconciliation to improve patient medication safety for the long-term care residences in the facility. Through appropriate reconciliation, medication errors and ADEs can be reduced or prevented and patient outcomes improved.

Within the last decade there has been considerable national attention focused upon hospital quality and patient safety performance. Improvements in performance have been realized, but the rate of improvement has been slow. There is an increasing consensus that new ideas and national strategies are needed to accelerate improvement efforts in addressing quality/safety issues. Currently, within the hospital setting more attention is being paid to the role of leadership starting with the board of trustees in addressing gaps in performance. Organization-wide awareness of critical gaps in performance, accountability structures, and organizational ability are considered critical facilitators of improvement efforts. The characteristics of awareness, accountability, ability, and action are components of a "4A" conceptual framework that is used most prominently by the National Quality Forum (NQF) in their Safe Practices for Better Healthcare toolkit to frame governance and leaderships' responsibilities in establishing leadership structures and systems to ensure the safety of patients and staff. This study utilizes the National Quality Forum's version of the 4A model to frame an empirical examination of the relationship between leadership structure and system characteristics and hospitals' implementation of the medication reconciliation innovation. A Patient Safety, Culture, and Leadership survey was used to capture Iowa hospital CEO/Quality Leaders' perceptions of board and leadership awareness and accountability characteristics. And, on a quarterly basis since mid-2006 a separate web-based survey has captured Iowa hospital Quality Leaders' perceptions of medication reconciliation implementation. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between leadership structures and systems and hospital-wide deployment of the medication reconciliation initiative. This study finds evidence that board-level awareness characteristics - the time the board spent in meetings on quality and safety issues, and the frequency of board receipt of a formal quality/safety report - were positively related to hospitals' early efforts to deploy the medication reconciliation initiative. Over time hospitals' financial ability was positively related to deployment of this initiative. Further research should focus on how healthcare governance and leadership teams can use the elements of leadership structures and systems safe practices to effectively create and sustain a culture of safety.

Medication errors make up a staggering portion of medical error in the United States. These medication errors are most likely to occur at transitions in care. Children with medical complexity (CMC) often rely on multiple medications to maintain their health, making accurate medication ordering of utmost importance to avoid exacerbating chronic conditions or unnecessary harm. Because of their increased medication usage, CMC have an increased risk of medication ordering error (MOE). To better inform the medication reconciliation process for CMC, we examine the prevalence, category, and risk factors of MOE at hospital admissions for this patient population. A retrospective cohort analysis of 1,237 hospitalized CMC from two tertiary pediatric teaching hospitals with clinical care services for CMC was performed on data from November 1, 2015 to October 31, 2016. Pharmacists and advance nurse practitioners identified MOEs at admissions through medical record review, patient history at interview, and inpatient team discussions. Identified MOEs were classified as one of seventeen different categories, some of which include duplications, omissions, or incorrect frequency, dose, or route. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher’s exact test, chi-squares, and generalized linear mix models to examine the relationships between MOEs at admission and patient characteristics, such as ethnicity, number of chronic conditions, or number of medications taken at admission. A total of 115 admission MOEs were identified in 73 hospitalized CMC. The two most common MOE types were wrong dose (41.7%) and omitted medication (33.9%). The median number of medications ordered at admission was 10 (IQR 6-14). Medications most commonly associated with an MOE were cholecalciferol (n=9) and baclofen (n=9). As for patient characteristics, the median age at admission was 5 years ([Interquartile Range [IQR] 1-12). Of the total sample, 96.8% had a complex chronic condition and 72.8% were technology dependent. Children who are Black, require medical technology, or take more than 15 medications during hospitalization were found to have higher MOE rates. Multivariable analysis revealed the highest odds of MOE in children taking baclofen (Odds Ratio [OR] 2.6 [95% Confidence Interval {CI} 1.4-4.7]). MOEs at admission are prevalent among hospitalized CMC. Further study on medication safety in CMC is needed to inform medication reconciliation processes and better prevent patient harm. / 2019-07-03T00:00:00Z

Ziel der vorliegenden Masterarbeit ist die Entwicklung von Qualitätsindikatoren für den Prozess „Empfehlungen der Apotheke zur Weiterführung der Medikation“ im Klinikum Mutterhaus. Damit soll ein Instrument entwickelt werden, das patientenbezogene Dienstleistungen der Krankenhausapotheker an der intersektoralen Schnittstelle im Hinblick auf das Qualitätsziel Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit messen und bewerten kann. Schwachstellen und Verbesserungspotentiale über den Verantwortungsbereich der Apotheke hinaus sollen identifiziert und in einen kontinuierlichen Verbesserungsprozess eingebracht werden können. Methodik: Zur Entwicklung der Qualitätsindikatoren wurde ein mehrstufiges Verfahren gewählt. Zunächst wurden die Qualitätsziele des Prozesses definiert und eine Prozessanalyse durchgeführt. Die Literaturrecherche auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene gab Anhaltspunkte zur Ableitung von Qualitätsindikatoren. Basierend auf der Prozessanalyse und der Literaturrecherche wurden Qualitätsindikatoren für den Prozess „Empfehlungen der Apotheke zur Weiterführung der Medikation“ entwickelt. Anhand einer retrospektiven Datenerhebung wurden die entwickelten Qualitätsindikatoren auf ihre Aussagekraft und Eignung geprüft. Der Prozess wurde mit Hilfe der Qualitätsindikatoren gemessen und bewertet. Schlussfolgerung: Mit Hilfe von fünf Qualitätsindikatoren-Sets kann der Prozess „Empfehlungen der Apotheke zur Weiterführung der Medikation“ umfassend untersucht werden. Die entwickelten Qualitätsindikatoren sind geeignet, die pharmazeutische Dienstleistung im Hinblick auf das Qualitätsziel Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit zu messen und zu bewerten. Sie ermöglichen die Evaluation des Prozesses und zukünftiger Verbesserungsmaßnahmen. Anhand der Qualitätsindikatoren wird zukünftig ein Monitoring der Dienstleistung möglich sein. / Purpose: The aim of this thesis is the development of quality indicators for the process "recommendations of the pharmacy to continue patient’s medication" at Klinikum Mutterhaus. An instrument is to be developed that can measure and rate the patient-related services of the hospital pharmacist at the intersectoral interface in terms of quality target in medication safety. Weaknesses and potential improvements should be identified and incorporated into a continuous improvement process. Methods: A multistage process is selected for the development of the quality indicators. First, the quality objectives of the process are defined and a process analysis is performed. A literature review on national and international level shall provide evidence for the derivation of quality indicators. Based on the process analysis and the literature review the quality indicators for the "Recommendations of the pharmacy to continue patient`s medication” are developed. In a retrospective data collection, the developed quality indicators are tested for their validity and suitability. The process is finally measured by the quality indicators and evaluated. Conclusion: With the help of five quality indicator sets the process "recommendations of the pharmacy to continue patient’s medication" can be fully investigated. The developed quality indicators are suitable to measure and evaluate the process in terms of the quality target medication safety. So the evaluation of the process and future improvements are possible. On the basis of the quality indicators a monitoring of the process can be established in the future.

Ziel der vorliegenden Masterarbeit ist die Entwicklung von Qualitätsindikatoren für den Prozess „Empfehlungen der Apotheke zur Weiterführung der Medikation“ im Klinikum Mutterhaus. Damit soll ein Instrument entwickelt werden, das patientenbezogene Dienstleistungen der Krankenhausapotheker an der intersektoralen Schnittstelle im Hinblick auf das Qualitätsziel Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit messen und bewerten kann. Schwachstellen und Verbesserungspotentiale über den Verantwortungsbereich der Apotheke hinaus sollen identifiziert und in einen kontinuierlichen Verbesserungsprozess eingebracht werden können. Methodik: Zur Entwicklung der Qualitätsindikatoren wurde ein mehrstufiges Verfahren gewählt. Zunächst wurden die Qualitätsziele des Prozesses definiert und eine Prozessanalyse durchgeführt. Die Literaturrecherche auf nationaler und internationaler Ebene gab Anhaltspunkte zur Ableitung von Qualitätsindikatoren. Basierend auf der Prozessanalyse und der Literaturrecherche wurden Qualitätsindikatoren für den Prozess „Empfehlungen der Apotheke zur Weiterführung der Medikation“ entwickelt. Anhand einer retrospektiven Datenerhebung wurden die entwickelten Qualitätsindikatoren auf ihre Aussagekraft und Eignung geprüft. Der Prozess wurde mit Hilfe der Qualitätsindikatoren gemessen und bewertet. Schlussfolgerung: Mit Hilfe von fünf Qualitätsindikatoren-Sets kann der Prozess „Empfehlungen der Apotheke zur Weiterführung der Medikation“ umfassend untersucht werden. Die entwickelten Qualitätsindikatoren sind geeignet, die pharmazeutische Dienstleistung im Hinblick auf das Qualitätsziel Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit zu messen und zu bewerten. Sie ermöglichen die Evaluation des Prozesses und zukünftiger Verbesserungsmaßnahmen. Anhand der Qualitätsindikatoren wird zukünftig ein Monitoring der Dienstleistung möglich sein. / Purpose: The aim of this thesis is the development of quality indicators for the process "recommendations of the pharmacy to continue patient’s medication" at Klinikum Mutterhaus. An instrument is to be developed that can measure and rate the patient-related services of the hospital pharmacist at the intersectoral interface in terms of quality target in medication safety. Weaknesses and potential improvements should be identified and incorporated into a continuous improvement process. Methods: A multistage process is selected for the development of the quality indicators. First, the quality objectives of the process are defined and a process analysis is performed. A literature review on national and international level shall provide evidence for the derivation of quality indicators. Based on the process analysis and the literature review the quality indicators for the "Recommendations of the pharmacy to continue patient`s medication” are developed. In a retrospective data collection, the developed quality indicators are tested for their validity and suitability. The process is finally measured by the quality indicators and evaluated. Conclusion: With the help of five quality indicator sets the process "recommendations of the pharmacy to continue patient’s medication" can be fully investigated. The developed quality indicators are suitable to measure and evaluate the process in terms of the quality target medication safety. So the evaluation of the process and future improvements are possible. On the basis of the quality indicators a monitoring of the process can be established in the future.

Class of 2017 Abstract / Objectives: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the effect of using advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) students in the collection of admission medication history at an academic teaching hospital prior to pharmacist review. Methods: The study is a retrospective, descriptive study. Using electronic medical records, the study looked at patients admitted to specific floors during a two-month period. The primary outcome was number of discrepancies found by the APPE students. The secondary outcome was the type of discrepancy found (omission, duplication, wrong dose, wrong frequency, wrong dosage form, and medications the subject no longer takes). Results: Over eight weeks, the APPE students identified 2,666 discrepancies, which equates to approximately 4.71 ± 4.76 discrepancies per patient. The majority of these discrepancies were identified as omissions of therapy (39.1%), followed by medications the patients were no longer taking (29.8%), and wrong dosing frequencies (18.1%). Conclusions: APPE students assisted the medication reconciliation process by identifying numerous medication discrepancies which may have prevented patient harm. APPE students are an underutilized resource and prove to be an asset to the healthcare team.

Class of 2017 Abstract / Objectives: To assess the change in efficiency and accuracy of the medication reconciliation process at the Pima County Adult Detention Center (PCADC) after implementation of a Health Information Exchange (HIE) and also to identify the percentage of patients whose medication data is available in the HIE Methods: This program evaluation was a retrospective comparison of the traditional self-reported method of medication reconciliation to the HIE method. It compared the number and types of medication discovered for each patient using the traditional medication reconciliation collection data (the self-reported method) and the new database query method (HIE method) Results: 200 samples were randomly selected (100 random detainees and 100 with known medical record in the HIE database) to participate in the study. A total of 150 patients (61%) were retrieved from the HIE database, of which 100 were from the control group and 50 from the random group. The total numbers of medications that these 150 patients contributed was 284. Mean completeness of self-reported medications was 54% while HIE yielded an average of 99% (χ2; p<0.0001). 9 patients (4%) had both self-reported medications and medications within the HIE database in which 17 medications (62%) compared to the self-reporting method with 14 medications (52%) sharing the same name. There were no medication dose matches between self-reported medications and HIE queried medications. Conclusions: The addition of an HIE database to the existing self-reporting process of collecting a detainee’s medication reconciliation provides a more comprehensive and accurate medical record