Patient Safety & Quality Improvement USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 400-bed hospital's quality improvement team identifies that medication errors occur at a rate of 12.3 per 1,000 doses during night shifts, compared to 3.1 per 1,000 doses during day shifts. Root cause analysis reveals that reduced night shift staffing and decreased pharmacist availability contribute to the higher error rate. The team implements a computerized bar-code verification system specifically designed for night shift medication administration. After 3 months of implementation, preliminary data shows a reduction in documented medication errors. Which of the following represents the most appropriate method to rigorously evaluate whether this intervention has achieved its intended outcome?
Answer choices
- AMeasure the total number of alert notifications generated by the computerized verification system per shift
- BCompare the medication error rate on the night shift for the 12 months before implementation to the rate during the 12 months after implementationCorrect answer
- CSurvey night shift nursing staff regarding their satisfaction with the new computerized verification system
- DCalculate the cost-effectiveness ratio of the computerized system compared to the baseline error rate
- ECompare medication error rates between night shift and day shift for the same time period post-implementation
- FMonitor compliance rates with mandatory use of the computerized verification system during night shifts
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