A patient-centered framework for health systems engineering in gastroenterology: improving inpatient colonoscopy bowel preparation.

Background: Inpatient colonoscopy bowel preparation (ICBP) is frequently inadequate and can lead to adverse events, delayed or repeated procedures, and negative patient outcomes. Guidelines to overcome the complex factors in this setting are not well established. Our aims were to use health systems engineering principles to comprehensively evaluate the ICBP process, create an ICBP protocol, increase adequate ICBP, and decrease length of stay.

Assessment of impact of daily huddles and visual displays on medication delivery timeliness in a large academic medical center.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of pharmacy team huddles and near real-time performance dashboards on the punctuality of medication delivery departures from the adult inpatient pharmacy of a multihospital medical center.

Methods: Baseline delivery punctuality was established during a 2-week unannounced preintervention period, followed by the implementation of daily huddles focused on delivery timeliness along with visual displays of delivery performance metrics. The 5- to 15-minute huddles included pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, and managers.

Implementation of a medication education training program for student pharmacists employed within an academic medical center.

Purpose: To describe the implementation of a student pharmacist medication education training program (the REWARDS Method), to determine if training was effective in preparing employed student pharmacists to provide medication education, and to assess medication education completion rates.

Summary: Hospital readmissions are often attributable to poor transitions of care (TOC), and medication education prior to discharge may improve TOC. To expand upon existing medication education efforts, the Johns Hopkins Hospital Adult Inpatient Pharmacy (AIP) designed and implemented the REWARDS Method, a training program to prepare employed second- and third-year student pharmacists to provide medication education.

Assessing Opportunities for Student Pharmacist Leadership Development at Schools of Pharmacy in the United States.

Objective. To summarize student pharmacist leadership development opportunities delivered by pharmacy programs, to describe selected opportunities, and to assess how these opportunities meet leadership development competencies. Methods.

Inclusion of salt form on prescription medication labeling as a source of patient confusion: a pilot study.

Background: It has been estimated that 10,000 patient injuries occur in the US annually due to confusion involving drug names. An unexplored source of patient misunderstandings may be medication salt forms.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess patient knowledge and comprehension regarding the salt forms of medications as a potential source of medication errors.