Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal Study
BackgroundA technology that has been widely implemented in hospitals in the United States is the automated dispensing cabinet (ADC), which has been shown to reduce nurse drug administration errors and the time nurses spend administering drugs. ObjectiveThis study...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2021-09-01
|
| Series: | JMIR Formative Research |
| Online Access: | https://formative.jmir.org/2021/9/e24542 |
| _version_ | 1827859057628676096 |
|---|---|
| author | Yi-Chen Wang Chin-Yuan Tsan Meng-Chun Chen |
| author_facet | Yi-Chen Wang Chin-Yuan Tsan Meng-Chun Chen |
| author_sort | Yi-Chen Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundA technology that has been widely implemented in hospitals in the United States is the automated dispensing cabinet (ADC), which has been shown to reduce nurse drug administration errors and the time nurses spend administering drugs.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the impact of an ADC system on medication administration by nurses as well as safety before and after ADC implementation.
MethodsWe conducted a 24-month-long longitudinal study at the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. Clinical observations and questionnaires were used to evaluate the time differences in drug preparation, delivery, and returns in the inpatient ward by nurses before and after using the ADC. Drug errors recorded in the Medical Incident Events system were assessed the year before and after ADC implementation.
ResultsThe drug preparation time of the wards increased significantly (all P<.005). On average, 2 minutes of preparation time is needed for each patient. Only 1 unit showed an increase in the drug return time, but this was not significant. There were 9 (45%) adverse events during the drug administration phase, and 11 (55%) events occurred during the drug-dispensing phase. Although a decrease in the mean number of events reported was observed during the ADC implementation period, this difference was not significant. As for the questionnaire that were administered to the nurses, the overall mean score was 3.90; the highest score was for the item “I now spend less time waiting for medications that come from the pharmacy than before the ADC was implemented” (score=4.24). The item with the lowest score was “I have to wait in line to get my patient medications” (score=3.32).
ConclusionsThe nurses were generally satisfied with ADC use over the 9 months following complete implementation and integration of the system. It was acknowledged that the ADC offers benefits in terms of pharmaceutical stock management; however, this comes at the cost of increased nursing time. In general, the nurses remained supportive of the benefits for their patients, despite consequences to their workflows. Their acceptance of the ADC system in this study demonstrates this. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:02:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dc92b5d836274ce78f87999f1a35ba84 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-326X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:02:58Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Formative Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-dc92b5d836274ce78f87999f1a35ba842023-08-28T19:05:28ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2021-09-0159e2454210.2196/24542Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal StudyYi-Chen Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3636-6376Chin-Yuan Tsanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0321-7929Meng-Chun Chenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6852-7392 BackgroundA technology that has been widely implemented in hospitals in the United States is the automated dispensing cabinet (ADC), which has been shown to reduce nurse drug administration errors and the time nurses spend administering drugs. ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the impact of an ADC system on medication administration by nurses as well as safety before and after ADC implementation. MethodsWe conducted a 24-month-long longitudinal study at the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. Clinical observations and questionnaires were used to evaluate the time differences in drug preparation, delivery, and returns in the inpatient ward by nurses before and after using the ADC. Drug errors recorded in the Medical Incident Events system were assessed the year before and after ADC implementation. ResultsThe drug preparation time of the wards increased significantly (all P<.005). On average, 2 minutes of preparation time is needed for each patient. Only 1 unit showed an increase in the drug return time, but this was not significant. There were 9 (45%) adverse events during the drug administration phase, and 11 (55%) events occurred during the drug-dispensing phase. Although a decrease in the mean number of events reported was observed during the ADC implementation period, this difference was not significant. As for the questionnaire that were administered to the nurses, the overall mean score was 3.90; the highest score was for the item “I now spend less time waiting for medications that come from the pharmacy than before the ADC was implemented” (score=4.24). The item with the lowest score was “I have to wait in line to get my patient medications” (score=3.32). ConclusionsThe nurses were generally satisfied with ADC use over the 9 months following complete implementation and integration of the system. It was acknowledged that the ADC offers benefits in terms of pharmaceutical stock management; however, this comes at the cost of increased nursing time. In general, the nurses remained supportive of the benefits for their patients, despite consequences to their workflows. Their acceptance of the ADC system in this study demonstrates this.https://formative.jmir.org/2021/9/e24542 |
| spellingShingle | Yi-Chen Wang Chin-Yuan Tsan Meng-Chun Chen Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal Study JMIR Formative Research |
| title | Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal Study |
| title_full | Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal Study |
| title_fullStr | Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal Study |
| title_short | Implementation of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet System and Its Impact on Drug Administration: Longitudinal Study |
| title_sort | implementation of an automated dispensing cabinet system and its impact on drug administration longitudinal study |
| url | https://formative.jmir.org/2021/9/e24542 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yichenwang implementationofanautomateddispensingcabinetsystemanditsimpactondrugadministrationlongitudinalstudy AT chinyuantsan implementationofanautomateddispensingcabinetsystemanditsimpactondrugadministrationlongitudinalstudy AT mengchunchen implementationofanautomateddispensingcabinetsystemanditsimpactondrugadministrationlongitudinalstudy |