The uptake of technologies designed to influence medication safety in Canadian hospitals.
BACKGROUND
There are many technologies designed to improve medication safety. Although limited evidence supports their use, there are pressures to implement them.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the uptake of technologies designed to improve medication safety, plans for adopting technologies, attitudes towards technology use, and perceptions of medication error. Methods We performed a cross-sectional survey of pharmacy directors at Canada's 100 largest acute-care hospitals.


RESULTS
Seventy-eight per cent of surveyed hospitals responded. Responding hospitals averaged 499 beds and 29% were teaching facilities. Hospital frequently used clinical pharmacy services (97% of hospitals), pharmacy-based intravenous admixture services (81%), computerized decision support modules for pharmacy order entry systems (77%), unit-dose drug distribution systems (75%) and computerized medication administration records (67%). Hospitals infrequently used bar-coding (9% of hospitals) and computerized physician order entry (9%). A majority of respondents and hospitals favoured expanded use of new technologies and planned for increased uptake. Respondents chose as their hospital's next investment: automated dispensing (33%), bar-coding (25%) and computerized physician order entry (12%).


CONCLUSIONS
Canadian hospitals appear poised to make sizeable investments in poorly evaluated technologies that address medication safety.
Saginur
Michael
M
Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Canada. misaginur@rogers.com
Graham
Ian D
ID
Forster
Alan J
AJ
Boucher
Michel
M
Wells
George A
GA
D002170:Canada; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000191:economics*