Risk Management for Preventing Medication Errors: A Study in the Use of Risk register in Healthcare Providers at a Community Hospital in Roi Et

Abstract

Objective: To develop a risk management process to prevent medication errors (MEs) by using the risk register (RR) in the context of a community hospital in Roi Et. Methods: This study was a research and development study in order to improve a risk management process for prevent MEs with the collaboration of 50 healthcare providers related to drug use process including physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, Thai traditional medical practitioners, pharmacy technicians, and general service pharmacy staff. The research process consisted of the following 5 phases: 1) planning, 2) implementation of the plan, 3) observation of the plan implementation, 4) reflection and improvement of the plan and 5) assessment of satisfaction among healthcare providers after implementation of the system. Results: Improvement of the process for risks management to prevent MEs involved several aspects including 1) prioritization of ME, 2) designation of key person responsible for each type of MEs, 3) documentation of MEs on the "risk register on google Drive", 4) the design  of measures to prevent MEs and communication with staff  through the "manual/guidelines/CPG", and 5) continuous monitoring of risk levels and review of preventive measures at the specified timeframe. After implementation of the preventive measures, MEs with severity level E decreased from 2.08% to 0%, while those with level C-D decreased from 21.53% to 10.00% percent, and those with level A increased from 76.39%  to 90.00%. Evaluation of satisfaction among the staff revealed a high level of satisfaction in all four dimensions including work processes, staff, outcomes, and communication. Conclusion: The implementation of risk management processes using RR helps identify more MEs and reduces the risk of MEs in patients.