77 Using PDSA (Plan – Do – Study – Act) model to increase medicine reconciliation in a tertiary care hospital of a developing country

Abstract

<h3>Objective</h3> Using PDSA (Plan – Do – Study - Act) model to increase medicine reconciliation in a tertiary care hospital of a developing country. <h3>Background</h3> The WHO defines the medication reconciliation process as ‘the formal process in which health care professionals partner with patients to ensure precise and complete medication information transfer at different interfaces of care’. Medication errors at time of a patient’s hospital admission are common occurrence in health care settings. Majority of the error occurs during prescribing, dispensing or administration of medicines. In order to avoid these errors, medication reconciliation processes and systems have been employed by health care organizations throughout the world. Implementing medical reconciliation has successfully reduced medication error in many institutes. <h3>Study Design and Methodology</h3> It was a quality improvement project conducted in the Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi. We included residents and interns working in Medicine department. The written proforma was distributed in three sessions for three consecutive weeks. The PDSA model was implemented for four months from February 2019 to May 2019 in the department of internal medicine. <h3>Result</h3> The Medicine reconciliation compliance improved from 4% in February 2019 to 96% in May 2019. <h3>Conclusion</h3> With the help of PDSA cycle we advised and managed to implement quality improvement interventions and changes that resulted in significant improvement in medication reconciliation compliance. This strategy of PDSA cycle can be applied in other quality indicator projects also for increasing patient safety and decrease preventable harm. This project also shows that engaging the health care workers will overcome the resistance to change and implement sustainable systems.