Utility of an online medication-error-reporting system.

PURPOSE: The utility of an online medication-error-reporting program was evaluated.
METHODS: A survey regarding the utility of Medmarx was developed and mailed to 550 hospitals and health systems that used the medication-error-reporting program. Primary contact persons were identified and asked to gather and report the necessary information to adequately characterize medication-error reporting in their institution before and after implementing the Medmarx system. Potential respondents were contacted four times during the survey period by the United States Pharmacopeia.
RESULTS: Of the 550 surveys sent, 200 were returned and 25 were undeliverable, resulting in a response rate of 38%. The average number of medication errors reported internally increased twofold after the adoption of the Medmarx system. Pharmacy departments were most often reported as responsible for medication-safety oversight activities after Medmarx implementation. Most facilities (94%) generated reports from the medication-error database, and 75% used this information to identify 7.0+/-8.1 opportunities to improve their medication-use system annually. Most respondents believed that Medmarx played an integral role in preparing their facility for Joint Commission accreditation surveys (65%), provided a tool for root-cause analysis (71%), and helped identify problems in the medication-use process (85%). The annual costs of the subscription and staff time required to use the system was estimated to be 16,756 dollars+/-21,108 dollars. Sixty-six percent of users were satisfied with the impact the system has had on improving the medication-use process.
CONCLUSION: Implementation of the Medmarx system led to an increase in the number of reported medication errors and improvements in the medication-use process.