National Survey of Hospital Medication Safety Practice during Mass Gathering (Hajj-2016) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: Patient Information

Objective: To explore the national hospital medication safety survey during mass gathering (Hajj -2016) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia: Patient information, the finding of ISMP (2011) self-assessment of medication safety at the hospitals. Methods: It is 15 days cross-sectional national survey of hospital medication safety at Makkah region. The survey modified from Institution of Safe Medication Practice (ISMP) self-assessment of hospital medication safety. It consisted of a demographic section and ten domains with 270 questions. The ten areas included patient information, drug information, communication of medication orders, drug preparation, medication distribution, medication devices, work environment, staff competency, patient education, quality process with risk management domain. The medications safety officer at Makkah region distributed the questionnaire and made follow up on a daily basis used physical visiting and through the telephone call. Results: The total score of all ISMP-self assessment of medication safety was 3.39 +/-0.51 (67.68 %) with CI (3.2-3.6) P< 0.05. The average rating of patient information domain at all hospital was 2.75+/- 0.57 (55 %) with CI (2.52-2.98) P< 0.05. The highest score of patient information section was the core information of the patient transmitted to the pharmacy 3.91 (78.2%). The lowest score of patient information section was computerized physician order entry (CPOE) with drug allergies 1.73 (34.6%), computerized order entry system with drug allergies alerting severity 1.73 (34.6%), and bar-coding used to verify patient identity during drug administration 1.9 (38%). Conclusion: Despite the patient information is very crucial for medication safety; the critical base information missed with the emphasis on patient allergies related issues and verification of medication administration by using new technology. An electronic prescription with complete medication history and alerting system highly recommended to during mass gathering Hajj is essential. Targeting to correct all related patient information measure will prevent drug misadventures, improved patient clinical outcomes, and quality of life.