Facts
Medicine handling
- barriers against errors
Inappropriate medication constitutes 34 % of all unintended incidents at the Danish hospitals and causes 70,000-160,000 hospitalisations annually. 3 % of these leads to deaths.
8-15 % of all hospitalisations are due to inapproriate medicine or inappropriate handling of medicine. Approximately half of these hospitalisations could have been prevented. In addition, inappropriate medication costs society around DKK 4-8 billions annually. So it makes perfect sense - both in terms of people and money - to bring down the number of inappropriate medication cases at the hospitals.
Objective
The overall objective of "Medicine handling - barriers against errors" was to ensure that the right patient received the right medicine in the right dosage at the right time via the right line of authority.
In addition, the project focused on the work culture and the work procedures that characterise hospital staff's handling of medicine.
Results
The project resulted in four suggestions for barriers against errors. Four specific design solutions in the form of new products, processes and policies that supplement each other and therefore constitute a holistic solution:
- iPad stand for nurses
- Checklists for doctors and nurses
- Awareness campaign "Thank you for the time" ("Tak for tiden")
- Patient book "With Rumle at the Paediatrics Ward" ("Med Rumle på Børneafdelingen")
The Kolding Hospital Paediatrics Ward won the Region of Southern Denmark Work Environment Award 2012 for its attention to work interruptions; a focus that took its point of departure in the awareness campaign "Thank you for the time" ("Tak for tiden") that was developed during the project.
Method
The medicine handling project focused on P12 og P3, the Paediatrics Ward at Kolding Hospital. This was the first ward of its kind to make a targeted effort to further patient safety for children in Denmark.
The success criteria for the project was to reduce the number of unintended incidents related to medication at Kolding Hospital and to share the solutions with paediatrics wards around the country.
Design School Kolding and Invia – Syddansk Sundhedsinnovation chose a "barrier against errors" approach. The solutions are based on a human factor perspective which means that all aspects related to making errors have been considered. User-inclusion has been a key element of the project.
Download the project report (in Danish)
