In-hospital medicine circuit: Reducing the paper circuit to increase patient safety

Abstract

Background: The development of new technologies has allowed the computerization of the clinical process and automation of several processes that are part of the intra hospital medicine circuit, such as production or distribution [1]. However, whether due to legal requirements, limited IT systems or team inertia, it tended to be a bureaucratic service in which the inappropriate and excessive use of paper did not accompany the process of digital transformation in healthcare [2].

It is known that improving the workflow leads to the optimization of the service provided [2,3]. Objective: To survey the stages of the medicine circuit where paper was established and replace it with safer, faster and computerized methods. Methods: For bibliographic support, articles were searched in the Pubmed database without applying time limits or typology. In practice, the steps that required computerization in the medicine circuit were identified and prioritized. Results: The excess of administrative tasks allocated to professionals such as Senior Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technicians (TSDT) made it urgent to analyze the stages where the paper circuit could be eliminated/replaced. The change in the medical prescription computer system (IS) made it possible to create medication modules in an advanced warehouse model controlled from the administration record per patient; Access to the IS for medical and nursing teams was reinforced and paper orders for medications were eliminated. A fully computerized authorization circuit for medical justifications was created. Conclusions: With the implementation of these measures, the time spent by TSDTs on administrative tasks was reduced, the traceability of medicines in the clinical services stock was improved and the loss of information due to lost papers was avoided. It is concluded, therefore, that the investment in the total computerization of the medicine circuit must be prioritized because by ensuring that there is no information outside the system, patient safety is increased.