Clinical observations and a Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis to identify vulnerabilities in the security and accounting of medications in Ontario hospitals: a study protocol

摘要

IntroductionAn increasing number of opioids and other controlled substances are being stolen from healthcare facilities, diverting medications from their intended medical use to be used or sold illicitly. Many incidents of medication loss from Canadian hospitals are reported as unexplained losses. Together, this suggests not only that vulnerabilities for diversion exist within current medication-use processes (MUPs), but that hospitals lack robust mechanisms to accurately track and account for discrepancies and loss in inventory. There is a paucity of primary research investigating vulnerabilities in the security and accounting of medications across hospital processes. The purpose of this study is to map hospital MUPs, systematically identify risks for diversion or unintentional loss and proactively assess opportunities for improvements to medication accounting and security.