Exploring Inpatient Medication Patterns: A Big Data and Multilevel Approach

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Operations
• Nursing Practice
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Inpatient medication administration is critical for patient outcomes.
• Understanding factors influencing medication timing is essential for improving care quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patterns in inpatient medication administration.
• To identify variables affecting the time between scheduled and actual medication delivery.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from multiple sources for analysis.
• Employed a 3-level hierarchical linear regression model.
• Calculated and compared intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs).

Main Results:

• Average medication delay was 12 minutes (SD, 48.8).
• Patient ICCs were lower when 'unit' replaced 'nurse' as the third level (0.541 vs 0.444).
• Spanish-speaking patients experienced 2.3- to 4.2-minute delays; certified nurses administered meds 1.6 minutes faster.

Conclusions:

• Medication administration is influenced by multiple factors, including nursing staff.
• Nursing leaders should consider patient demographics and unit characteristics for optimization.
• Addressing these factors can lead to improved medication administration timeliness and patient safety.