Correct and up-to-date medication is one of the most essential foundations of good treatment. The operating and registering models agreed upon in the organization ensure the validity of the medication data. The clear distribution of liabilities also reduces redundant work and ensures patient safety. The up-to-date status of the medication plan is a prerequisite for successful and safe digital working.
In the Seinäjoki central hospital of the Finnish Hospital District of Southern Ostrobothnia, the medication management has become clearer along with Tieto's Effica Ward Medication. The implementation of the new electronic medication tool was preceded by close co-operation of the medical ward head nurses, the doctor and the data system administrators, as a result of which an electronic medication management operating model was produced. The medication plan defines the responsibilities and duties of the nursing staff and the distribution of tasks for medication: who should record what, where, and when. "We can see electronically the drugs and dosages prescribed and distributed to patients and the person in charge of prescriptions and changes in medication," says Tiina Keski-Opas the duty doctor of the Cardiac Ward.
Clear distribution of tasks
The data system is an instrument of safe pharmacotherapy, but the final responsibility for the implementation and recording of pharmacotherapy lies with healthcare professionals. In Seinäjoki the nurses are responsible for entry interviews, checking the current medication of a patient and updating the data in the "open medication" of the data system and translating the data to "ward medication" in which case the system takes into account the pharmaceutical preparations included in the clinic's basic pharmaceutical selection and reminds the user of any deviations.
Along with the comprehensive, digitalized treatment process, structured recording will become an active part of the multiprofessional teams' work. Keski-Opas describes herself as a digital ward medication "heavy user". "The ward medication is an excellent tool that helps my daily work. With a couple of clicks the prescription is correctly delivered on the pharmaceutical list, the distribution lists are easy to change and it is also easy to print the changes for the patient. As the patients move on to the follow-up treatment, recording the current ward medication as open medication is fairly smooth," Keski-Opas describes.
The final responsibility for the implementation and recording of pharmacotherapy lies with healthcare professionals. "The user must be careful with the concentration of available drugs and the prescribed dosages. However, electronic recording reduces the risk of interpretation errors," says Keski-Opas.
Controlled implementation
In the Seinäjoki central hospital there are outpatient departments for all clinical specialties and over 570 hospital beds. The implementation of Effica Ward Medication was executed in the internal disease department during the spring 2009. In the late autumn of 2009 a systematic outpatient medication registration was started, which helps the administration of the medication for those patients that are admitted to the hospital. The paediatric department was the latest ward to implement the solution during the first quarter of 2010.
The Project Manager of Seinäjoki hospital data administration, Raili Vuorela, thanks the personnel of the hospital district for successful implementation of the solution and for the co-operation between the units. "In the beginning there was a lot of extra work due to the big amount of inpatients who had no open medication information data ready and available. However, the workload will decrease along with an active use of the solution. An active use of the open medication solution will remarkably help the implementation of ward medication solution," says Vuorela.
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About Tieto
Tieto is an IT service company providing IT, R&D and consulting services. With approximately 16 000 experts, we are among the leading IT service companies in Northern Europe and the global leader in selected segments. We specialize in areas where we have the deepest understanding of our customers' businesses and needs. Our superior customer centricity and Nordic expertise set us apart from our competitors.
Tieto helps healthcare and welfare organizations to improve the quality and efficiency of their services. We enable our customers to optimize processes, reduce waiting times, secure the flow of information, make high quality decisions and empower citizens. We are the leading healthcare and welfare ICT provider in the Nordic countries with a strong presence in Germany and the Netherlands. With 40 years of experience and a thorough understanding of our customers' processes, we help our customers to secure the future of care services and develop lifecare services at the individual, regional and national level.