UK university hospitals implement a closed loop medication supply
University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust implement NHS closed loop medication supply to improve safety and speed of hospital pharmacy processes
UK University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust have successfully integrated its Electronic Prescribing Medicines Administration module and the Trust’s pharmacy stock control system.
Traditionally and with potential risks, medication requests are manually copied from printed or handwritten paper documents. This resulted in a lengthy transcribing process for the pharmacy team when entering data into the electronic stock control systems.
The integration between the CareSuite Electronic Patient Record system and the pharmacy department creates a ‘closed loop medication supply’ process which significantly improves clinical safety and operational efficiency. The new digitised process enables a clinician to electronically prescribe the medication, which is automatically routed to the pharmacist for checking and then passed on to the Trust’s dispensing system to issue the medicine.
Safe and speedy process
Within the pharmacy stock control system, the team are provided with a safe and refined list of options for each medication request, speeding up the dispensing process, and nursing staff can quickly and easily see for themselves when the medication has been issued.
Debbie Loke, Interim Director of University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Being able to support our clinical teams with these developments is not only rewarding for those using the system but ultimately provides a better service for our patients, getting them quicker access to their drugs in order that they can return to their homes and families. This is a great example of partnership working with system suppliers and clinical teams that improves care.”
Clive Newman, Chief Pharmacist at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, added: “Our clinicians and pharmacy team are benefitting from a much more automated, efficient and accurate process. It reduces delays in treatment and most significantly, reduces dispensing errors resulting from manual transcription.”
Pharmacies are transforming globally, with AIG Life, for example, offering same-day delivery on prescriptions through the Smart Health app.