Analysis of medication safety self-assessment results of 67 hospitals in China

Objective To preliminarily understand the current status of medication safety management of medical institutions in China. Methods Medication Safety Panel in China Core Group of International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) and Chinese Pharmacological Society Professional Committee of Drug-induced Diseases jointly established a research group. Basing on the voluntary principle, members (medical institutions) of the group did medication safety self-assessment using the questionnaires of " 2011 ISMP Medication Safety Self Assessment® for Hospitals (Chinese version)" , which included 10 key elements, 20 core indicators, and 270 assessment projects. The questionnaires were handed out on August 17, 2018 and needed to be completed and submitted within 2 months. Results As of October 19, 2018, 67 hospitals of 16 provincial administrative regions in total had submitted their questionnaires, including 61 (91.0%) 3A hospitals and 6 (9%) 2A hospitals. The average value of total scores of medication safety self-assessment in the 67 hospitals was 58.9% (7.6%-90.0%). None of the 67 hospitals evaluated the key element Ⅵ(medication device acquisition, use, and monitoring). The scores of the other 9 key elements from high to low were 67.6%, 66.2%, 65.1%, 64.8%, 64.1%, 58.2%, 54.5%, 54.4%, and 52.5% respectively for element Ⅶ (environmental factors, workflow and staffing patterns), element Ⅳ(drug labeling, packaging and nomenclature), element Ⅸ (patient education), element Ⅲ(communication of drug orders and other drug information), element Ⅷ (staff competency and education), element Ⅴ(drug standardization, storage and distribution), element Ⅹ (quality processes and risk management), element Ⅰ (patient information), and element Ⅱ (drug information). Conclusion The data of medication safety from 67 hospitals of 16 provincial administrative regions were obtained through the first national self-assessment questionnaire survey in medical institutions, which initially reflected the current status of medication safety in medical institutions in China. Key words: Patient safety; Safety management; Medication errors; Medication systems; Organization culture; Electronic prescribing; Self-evaluation programs