Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Improving Med Rec

Alegent Health, a 10-hospital system based in Nebraska and Southwestern Iowa, wanted an electronic process for medication reconciliation that would improve completeness and accuracy of the medication list at discharge. The solution had to also support system initiatives to go green, improve patient safety and reduce readmission rates. "Our goal was to automate the process so our physicians would have more time for critical thinking," said Michael Westcott, M.D., chief medical information officer. "In the process, we introduced our physicians to CPOE and greatly improved the patient-friendly quality of our discharge instructions for medications." Monthly in-house random chart audits demonstrate 99 percent completion rates for medication reconciliation. The new process also drastically reduced calls from pharmacists and patients to clarify discharge medications. The hospital attributes falling readmission rates for CHF and AMI in part to better patient understanding, and therefore compliance, with their discharge medications. For more information contact Angela Ward, quality and ancillary services executive, at angela.org@alegent.org. This chairman file was provided by AHA Solutions.