“The Impact of Implementing Electronic Medication Management System on Medication Safety practices: A case study at a Palestinian Tertiary Hospital” رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

Background: Electronic Medical Records (EMR) have aided health care workers in improving safety, but to date, there is few statistical evidence about the effectiveness of Electronic Medication Management (EMM) Systems in improving medication safety practices. This study aims to study the impact of implementing EMM system on medication safety practices in a Palestinian Tertiary hospital, Al Istishari Arab Hospital (IAH). The hospital reverted to using an electronic system after relying on paper medication order documentation. Therefore, this study provided accurate comparison between the paper and electronic medication documentation. Methods: Non-experimental pre-and posttest design. The design of the study used a quantitative analysis approach using an open chart review methodology (retrospective study) to determine the impact of implementing EMM Systems on medication safety practices. Data was gathered from paper medical files and Kardex (medication administration record), over two months, and then gathered from the same departments using the EMR over three months. The tool used in this study is a Joint Commission International tool, which is used to study the compliance in complete medication order documentation. The results were compared and contrasted to see the effect of implementing EMM system versus paper documentation. Results: The medication orders collected through the paper phase were equal to 65 medication order. Meanwhile, the electronic orders were 141 medication orders. The healthcare givers’ compliance with a complete medication order, though using the Traditional Paper Approach was equal to 70.5%. The compliance with a complete medication order through using the EMM System was equal to 78 %. The results showed a statistically significant impact with a p value = 0.00, on medication documentation after using the EMM system. Conclusion: Implementing an EMM system on compliance with a complete medication order has a significant impact on compliance, which predisposes to medication and patient