Newswise — The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Research and Education Foundation has announced that Evanston Northwestern Healthcare (ENH) is the recipient of the 2005 Award for Excellence in Medication-Use Safety. This is the only award program to honor a pharmacist-led multidisciplinary team for its significant institution-wide system improvements relating to medication use. The award, which is sponsored by the Cardinal Health Foundation, recognizes on a national level pharmacy professionals who have assumed a leadership role in promoting safety in the medication-use process. The competition also honors two finalists.
The recipient and finalists will be formally recognized at an invitation-only luncheon to be held during the 2005 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. ENH will receive a $50,000 award to be used to further promote medication-use safety in its health system. The finalists, St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers and Sutter Medical Center, each will receive a $10,000 award.
This year's recipient, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, located in Evanston, Illinois, created a completely electronic health record system for use in an acute care and ambulatory setting. ENH implemented the system in its 3 hospitals and 60-plus physician offices, and required every physician and clinician to use it. This resulted in improved patient safety by eliminating problems associated with illegible orders; accessibility to the right patient data at the right time for all physicians, clinicians and administrators; and assurance that the information and coded data in the record is accurate.
Since implementation, ENH has experienced a 100% elimination of all transcription-related medication errors; a 70% decrease in delayed administration of medications to patients; a 20% decrease in omitted medication administration; and a 50% reduction for time from order to administration of first-dose antibiotics.
"With direction and support from both senior leadership and physician leadership, we have completely revised almost every workflow process of every physician, clinician, technician, and support staff to utilize technology to improve the care and safety of our patients," says Lynn Boecler, Pharm.D., M.S., Senior Director of Pharmacy Services for Evanston Hospital, and the pharmacist who led ENH's multidisciplinary team in its initiatives. "Being granted this award validates our effort to completely transform how we provide care through the implementation of integrated electronic health records as the right thing to do for our patients. We are pleased that the ASHP Foundation and Cardinal Health Foundation recognize the tremendous amount of work required to accomplish these outcomes."
St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers in Beech Grove, Indiana, the first finalist, commissioned a Medication Event Decision Support (MEDS) Team to develop a strategic plan for medication safety. The team went about building a "culture of safety" in St. Francis, promoting a non-punitive culture for sharing information and lessons learned; developing a safety reporting system; and fostering multidisciplinary teamwork. Major initiatives included instituting a zero-tolerance policy for use of abbreviations related to insulin orders and determining new ways to use existing technology to improve medication safety and communications.
Sutter Medical Center Sacramento (SMCS) in California, the second finalist, developed an Emergency Drug Sheet System to define all concentrations of vasoactive medications and standardize procedures for all aspects related to medication use, including prescribing, preparing, administering, dispensing and storing. The sheet is used by all clinicians for all patients, regardless of age, size or location in the 500-bed tertiary care hospital. The system eliminated manual math calculations, a major source of errors and delays, from the prescribing, preparing and administering steps in the medication-use process. SMCS developed a software program that prints the single-page, patient-specific reference sheet; the program adjusts to the specific patient, eliminating the need for the clinician to adjust to multiple systems in different patient care areas. The sheet can be printed from any patient care computer by entering a name and weight. The result has meant faster and safer preparation and delivery of vasoactive medications for neonatal and pediatric patients, allowing clinicians to focus on other clinical issues instead of mathematical calculations at critical periods in patient care.
"It is remarkable to see the systems improvement and the advances for patients' medication safety that were achieved by the team of practitioners at each of these sites. Pharmacist leadership was instrumental in every case and there are tremendously valuable and transferable lessons to be learned. The ASHP Foundation celebrates the successes of these practitioners and looks forward to helping them disseminate key aspects of their success stories with other practitioners," said Stephen J. Allen, M.S., FASHP, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the ASHP Foundation.
The three sites were chosen by an interdisciplinary panel of judges, who evaluated 19 applications. Finalists were chosen based on criteria focusing on achievements in medication-use system initative/scope, planning and implementation, measurable outcomes and impact, and innovation and applicability. Judges visited each finalist site before selecting a recipient. The selection panel members are Barbara Balik, R.N., Ed.D, Executive Vice President, Safety & Quality Systems at Allina Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Donald E. Casey, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., FACP, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Quality and Patient Safety at Catholic Health Partners in Cincinnati, Ohio; Kathy Crea, Pharm.D., BCPS, Medication Safety Coordinator of OhioHealth, Inc., in Columbus, Ohio; Joanne G. Kowiatek, M.P.M., Pharmacy Manager, Medication Patient Safety at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania; Timothy S. Lesar, B.S., Pharm. D., FASHP, Director of Pharmacy at Albany Medical Center in New York; and Mark Szalwinski, B.S., M.H.A., Vice President at Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia.
About the ASHP FoundationThe ASHP Research and Education Foundation (http://www.ashpfoundation.org) was established in 1968 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. The mission of the Foundation is to improve the health and well-being of patients in hospitals and health systems through appropriate, safe and effective medication use. The Foundation provides leadership and conducts education and research activities that foster the coordination of interdisciplinary medication management leading to optimal patient outcomes. Emphasis is given to programs that will have a major impact on advancing pharmacy practice in hospitals and health systems, thereby improving public health.
About the Cardinal Health FoundationSupported by the global resources of Cardinal Health (http://www.cardinal.com), including more than 55,000 employees around the world, the Cardinal Health Foundation is the focal point of the company's community relations efforts. The Foundation's mission is to advance and fund regional and national programs that improve access to and delivery of quality health care services. With annual revenues of nearly $75 billion and operations on six continents, Cardinal Health is the leading provider of products and services supporting the health care industry.
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