Investigations and solutions for safer medication in healthcare

Abstract: Uppsala University Hospital aims to automate its drug management and distribution system in order to increase the speed and accuracy of the prescription process and reduce prescription errors. In order to achieve those goals, the hospital plans to introduce Closed-Loop- Medication (CLM). CLM enforces digitalization and automation of the entire drug management process. Studies show that CLM can reduce prescription errors. The Closed Loop Medication Management System is an electronic drug management process that automates drug management and disease management and documents all relevant patient history information. Drug prescription verification is one of the prerequisites in order to implement CLM.The purpose of this thesis is to find solutions to support and improve the prescription verification routines at Uppsala University Hospital. The first part of the report consists of a literature review about CLM and its impact. The second and main part describes a solution that can facilitate the implementation of CLM at the  hospital with focus on the prescription verification process. More specifically, I developed an interface prototype with the name VerifyPro. User-Centred Design (UCD) method was followed for the development of VerifyPro. UCD is an iterative design process in which designers focus on the users and their needs in each phase of the design process. Finally, user requirements for the new interface were gathered by performing interviews at the hospital. Analysis on the responses from the interviews illustrated some problems on the hospital’s information system (COSMIC). On top of that the user needs became clear. Healthcare professionals need a support decision system that can supplement and facilitate their decision process. Last but not the least, they desire a customisable interface where users view only what they need to view about a patient. VerifyPro was designed to work supplementary to COSMIC. Its goal is to improve the prescription verification process, improve the communication between the health professionals, and lastly to provide a better and customisable overview of patient data.