Application of Modeling in a Drug Distribution and Dispensing Process Focused on Traceability in a Surgical Center

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1514
• Author: Janaina Mascarenhas Hornos Costa,Monique Tonani,Laura Martins Valdevite Pereira,Silvia Inês Dallavalle Pádua,Silvio Cesar Somera
• Date: 01 April 2016
• Published date: 01 April 2016

■Case Study

Application of Modeling in a Drug

Distribution and Dispensing Process

Focused on Traceability in a Surgical

Center

Laura Martins Valdevite Pereira

1

, Monique Tonani

1

,

Silvio Cesar Somera

1

, Janaina Mascarenhas Hornos da Costa

2

*and

Silvia Inês Dallavalle de Pádua

3

1

Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo Brazil

2

Production Engineering Department, School of Engineering of São Carlos, University of São Paulo, São

Carlos, São Paulo Brazil

3

Department of Business Administration, School of Economics, Business Administration and Accounting,

University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo Brazil

Background: Medication practice in a hospital organization may be considered a process. As the efficiency of this pro-

cess increases, the success of treatment and prophylaxis at a hospital is enhanced. Surveillance mechanisms for mon-

itoring the medication process, such as pharmacovigilance, are new requirements that must be implemented.

Organizational management methods, such as process modeling, assist the effective implementation of improve-

ments, and, thus, it is believed that these methods should be used to improve the medication process.

Objective: The objective of this study was to present a case of model application for the drug distribution and dispens-

ing process in a surgical center of a large Brazilian hospital, to comply with a new federal regulation.

Design: A case study was conducted at a tertiary university hospital. To perform the comparison between theory and

practice based on the state-of-the-art of the theme, on-site observation, document analysis, and interviews with busi-

ness managers were performed to collect data.

Results: Process modeling enabled characterization of the current drug distribution and dispensing process in the sur-

gical unit. The improvement proposal design considered the current limitations and opportunities for improvement

identified in the current situation. The presented proposal enables the implementation of legal requirements for drug

traceability.

Conclusions: The use of modeling to redesign the process was of great assistance for the development and evaluation

of the required changes. Modeling promoted a wide discussion of the current process and the improvement proposal,

reducing the risk of failure when implementing the new work process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

INTRODUCTION

Hospital organizations must ensure patient safety,

which, according to the World Health Organization,

“is the reduction of a risk of unnecessary harm

associated with healthcare to an acceptable

minimum”(OMS, 2005). Thus, all activities must

be controlled, especially those related to the use of

drugs.

Medication practice in a hospital organization

may be regarded as a system that is defined as a

combination of interdependent processes that share

a common goal (Nadzam, 1998). According to Bell

et al. (2004), medication management consists of five

main processes: prescription, transmission, dispens-

ing, administration, and monitoring. In the

medication management system, patients and the

information regarding drug therapy are considered

*Correspondence to: Janaina Mascarenhas Hornos da Costa,

Production Engineering Department, School of Engineering of

São Carlos, University of São Paulo, Av. do Trabalhador

são-carlense 400,13566-590 São Carlos, SP, Brazil.

E-mail: janainacosta@usp.br

Knowledge and Process Management

Volume 23 Number 2 pp 161–168 (2016)

Published online in Wiley Online Library

(www.wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/kpm.1514

Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.