A new BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) survey conducted by HIMSS Analytics®, 2017 Medication Management and Safety Survey, found more than 75 percent of physicians, nurses and pharmacists surveyed described the medication management process as “flawed,” “fragmented,” “disjointed” and “primitive.”
The survey of 153 physicians, nurses and pharmacists, and 1,131 patients and their family members sheds light on the current state of patient safety, patient perceptions toward medication management and, perhaps most importantly, healthcare professionals’ thoughts on potential solutions to help the healthcare industry move toward the elimination of errors.
While healthcare organizations have made progress with various technologies in recent years, they have a long road ahead to eliminate harmful medication errors altogether.The greatest vulnerability in the medication management process exists in care transitions, according to the survey results. Indeed, 32 percent of clinicians cited care transitions as the area of greatest concern, while 24 percent pointed to the patient bedside, and 15 percent had concerns with the medication management process while in the pharmacy.
Additional results revealed:
– Nearly half of healthcare professionals surveyed cited better integration with electronic health records as an opportunity for improvement
– More than 70 percent of organizations surveyed see the value in moving to a single vendor for medication management
– Over a quarter of clinicians polled stated that data from medication management devices do not integrate well with EHRs at their facilities
– 56 percent of healthcare professionals surveyed indicated that their medication management process fails to capture 20 percent or more of medication errors
– Nearly 40 percent of the patients and families who participated in the survey feel more protected than ever before.
– More than 96 percent of patients and family members trust that their medications will be administered according to the five rights (right patient, drug, dose, route and time), with a full 60 percent of respondents reporting supreme confidence.
– 23 percent of patients reported that they have experienced a medication error. And, one in five of these patients suffered from “severe repercussions.” In addition, 38 percent of respondents reported that they know someone who has experienced a medication error ― and of those, 35 percent experienced a prolonged length of stay; 23 percent, severe repercussions; and 7 percent, death.
– 90 percent of medication errors through their medication management processes point to closed-loop medication tools as the primary cause of their success (63 percent), followed by attention from leadership (55 percent), ongoing training (47 percent) and seamless integration with the EHR (32 percent).
“BD is partnering with IT industry leaders and collaborating with customers to help address these evolving medication management challenges,” said Ranjeet Banerjee, worldwide president of Medication Management Solutions for BD. “By leveraging these partnerships, we will improve interoperability across the medication management process, enhance cybersecurity and develop advanced analytics to drive sustained customer outcomes.”
Report Background/Methodology
The professional online survey was administered to 153 physicians, nurses and pharmacists between May 23 and June 23, 2017. In addition, in-depth interviews with 20 of these professionals were conducted between June 16 and June 28, 2017. The patient and family online survey was administered between June 19 and June 23, 2017, and included 1,131 individuals who had a loved one admitted to the hospital within the previous 12 months.
