Assessment of the Nurse Medication Administration Workflow Process

• Main Authors: Nathan Huynh, Rita Snyder, José M. Vidal, Omor Sharif, Bo Cai, Bridgette Parsons, Kevin Bennett
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of Healthcare Engineering
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6823185

This paper presents findings of an observational study of the Registered Nurse (RN) Medication Administration Process (MAP) conducted on two comparable medical units in a large urban tertiary care medical center in Columbia, South Carolina. A total of 305 individual MAP observations were recorded over a 6-week period with an average of 5 MAP observations per RN participant for both clinical units. A key MAP variation was identified in terms of unbundled versus bundled MAP performance. In the unbundled workflow, an RN engages in the MAP by performing only MAP tasks during a care episode. In the bundled workflow, an RN completes medication administration along with other patient care responsibilities during the care episode. Using a discrete-event simulation model, this paper addresses the difference between unbundled and bundled workflow and their effects on simulated redesign interventions.