Abstract
A version of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) questionnaire adapted to the Austrian inpatient setting was used to sample the estimates of a group of experts regarding the level of medication safety in a level II hospital. To synthesize expert opinions on a group level reproducibly, classical Delphi method elements were combined with an item weight and performance weight decision-maker. This newly developed information synthesis method was applied to the sample dataset to examine method applicability. Method descriptions and flow diagrams were generated. Applicability was then tested by creating a synthesis of individual questionnaires. An estimate of the level of medication safety in an Austrian level II hospital was, thus, generated. Over the past two decades, initiatives regarding patient safety, in general, and medication safety, in particular, have been gaining momentum. Questionnaires are state of the art for assessing medication practice in healthcare facilities. Acquiring consistent data about medication in the complex setting of a hospital, however, has not been standardized. There are no publicly available benchmark datasets and, in particular, there is no published method to reliably synthesize expertise regarding medication safety on an expert group level. The group-level information synthesis method developed in this study has the potential to synthesize information about the level of medication safety in a hospital setting more reliably than unstructured approaches. A medication safety level estimate for a representative Austrian level II hospital was generated. Further studies are needed to establish convergence characteristics and benchmarks for medication safety on a larger scale.
Highlights
Over the past two decades, patient safety movements, in general, and the medication safety movement, in particular, have gained momentum [1, 2]
The method presented in this study can be reproduced like other questionnaire-based investigations that are aimed at hospital environments or similar settings
Further studies are needed to estimate value-added and establish convergence characteristics for different hospitals and subject matters
Summary
Over the past two decades, patient safety movements, in general, and the medication safety movement, in particular, have gained momentum [1, 2]. Getting consistent data about medication in the complex setting of a hospital, is tricky and time-consuming since multiple aspects of the issues are embedded in different settings and professions. The simple question of the responsibility for maintenance and checking of the temperature of refrigerators where drugs are kept in the wards is a matter of shared responsibility between nurses and the technical department, while checking the documentation thereof can be part of the ward inspection done by pharmacists. Refrigerators for blood, for drugs, for studies, or for narcotics that need refrigerating will be dealt with and checked differently
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