All (Mater)

January to June 2015

Medication safety

Mater hospitals are committed to ensuring patients who require medication receive the right medications at the right time.  With around three million medications administered to patients annually when they are in our hospitals, Mater has a continuous focus on eliminating errors in medication prescription, dispensing, administration and patient monitoring. 

Through our innovative Medication Safety Program, Mater has been able to focus on key aspects that contribute to ensuring the safety of patients receiving medications. We strive to continuously improve our performance using measures that are benchmarked across other Australian hospitals.

Safe Medication Systems

Measure

This measure uses the Medication Safety Self-Assessment (MSSA) survey tool designed for use in Australian hospitals and helps identify opportunities for improvement in the management of medications.

The MSSA covers all aspects of a safe medication system and is divided into ten key elements. These elements have been shown to significantly improve safe medication use. These elements were initially assessed in 2008 and further assessments have occurred in 2010 and 2012-13.

Medication Safety Self-Assessment Elements
Patient information	Medication device acquisition, use and monitoring
Drug information	Environmental factors, workflow and staffing patterns
Communication of drug orders and other drug information	Staff competency and education
Drug labelling, packaging and nomenclature	Patient Education
Drug standardisation, storage and distribution	Quality processes and risk management

 

Performance

All ten key elements have shown substantial improvement since the assessment was first conducted in 2008 and eight of the ten elements showed further improvement again in the 2012-13 assessment. These results highlight the commitment we have at Mater in ensuring the right patient receives the right medication at the right time, every time.