BETTER BEDSIDE CARE WITH SAFER MEDS DELIVERY

Medication administration error is a pervasive problem that leads to over 500,000 adverse events per year in the US. The Risk Authority at Stanford brought in Future Medical Systems to create new human-centered approaches to reduce this danger across the Stanford Hospital and Clinic system.

Together, TRA and FMS developed a strategic initiative which included “Medstime”: a patient-focused bedside medication process, inviting patients and their families to play an active (but carefully constrained) role in their own safety.

Pilot studies show a 55% decrease in nurse interruptions during administration and an average time saving of 6 minutes for each patient’s medication pass (equivalent to 1 nurse salary per unit). Since then, “Medstime” has been implemented as a standard practice in the new Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.