Interruptions that occur during medication administration processes such as conversations with other staff, family members, or physician can result in clinical errors. It is necessary to assess current medication administration work flow and institute changes to decrease interruptions. Redesigning the workplace may achieve this goal (Pape, Guerra, & Muzquiz, 2005). The current process at Wellstar consists of accessing and preparing medication in a central room and then transporting the medication to the patient’s room to administer. This process is prone to interruptions and can be time consuming due to process flow issues such as staying in line at the centrally located medication cabinet to obtain medications. The primary goals of the research study at Wellstar include: (1) to record the number of interruptions that occur during the medication administration process; (2) to record the amount of time that is spent on the medication administration process; (3) to implement a wall mounted cabinet that can store medication closer to the patient; (4) to evaluate the impact of moving medication closer to the patient.
To capture both nurse perceptions and actual data regarding the medication administration process, it was decided to perform the research study in two phases: a qualitative survey phase and a quantitative time-study phase. The qualitative phase of the research study would involve a survey administered to nursing staff both before and after the installation of the bedside medication wall units. In this research study, an interruption will be defined as any disruption in the workflow process of a nurse administering medication to a patient. Interruptions will be categorized as one of four types: patient care, pharmacy, unit staff, and other. These interruptions will be coded and tracked along with the time series data to assess frequency and possible trends.
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