Medicines Optimisation Pharmacy Assistants on Wards (MO ATO)
by Bilal Topia & Israr Baig
Background
Patients were being transferred from ward to ward – in particular from assessment units onto wards – but their medicines were not always being transferred at the same time. This issue resulted in missed doses, duplicate prescriptions, lost medicines and time spent by ward staff in tracing medicines, writing new prescriptions and traveling backwards and forwards to Pharmacy to collect urgent medicines.
Aim
To reduce the amount of medication being left behind on AMU when patients were transferred to a new ward
Method
Employ Medicines Optimisation Pharmacy Assistants (MO ATO) to complete the following tasks each day (Monday – Friday):
- 9am – Transfer all medication left on AMU to patient’s bed side locker on new ward
- 12pm – all medications ordered by pharmacy for patients on AMU dispensed, accuracy checked and delivered to ward and placed in patients bed side locker
This was piloted successfully on AMU in GRH for over 4 months resulting in a safer and more efficient service to AMU.
Results
- Reduction in missed doses
- Reduced medicines wastage
- Reduced returns for Distribution
- Reduced time dealing with duplicate prescriptions
- Reduced time spent on medicines management on wards by nursing staff
- Reduced time spent in Pharmacy tracing missing medicines
- Eliminate time spent on collecting missing medicines from Pharmacy Departments
- Improved patient flow
Next steps
- Business case for funding approved and additional staff recruited
- Implementation to the following wards commenced August 19: AMU, 9B, 8B, 7A, 5A
- Subsequent wards to be introduced in a phased approach
- Future roles to be added as project develops
- MOATO to continue data collection to prove benefits realisation