Hospital-wide Analysis of Preprinted Medication Order Sets at a Tertiary Community Hospital

Signature Grand, Davie, Florida, USA

Objective. To standardize the process for using preprinted order sets which will enhance accurate communication, promote patient safety, and help to build the framework for future Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) implementation. Background. A preprinted order set is a tool to assist the practitioner in choosing the most appropriate medical management of patients. They often accompany clinical practice guidelines and are recommended to reduce communication errors by targeting the ordering stage of medications, where most medication errors occur. They provide continuity of care, educate institutional personnel regarding evidence-based guidelines, increase compliance with Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), and enhance workflow processes. Currently, many of the existing order sets belong to individual physicians and there is potential for little variation as different physicians may have similar order sets for a particular procedure or diagnosis. Methods. Preprinted order sets will be collected from all units of the hospital and scanned for duplicates. Each original will be analyzed using a data collection sheet that was developed based on The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) and the USP Center for the Advancement of Patient Safety preprinted order set recommendations. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize data and inferential statistics will be used to analyze the results according to “disease-specific” or “doctor-specific.” Order sets that are found to contain inappropriate or duplicate information will be revised using an interdisciplinary approach. This standardization will decrease the risk of error that comes with multiple versions. Results and Conclusion. In progress.