TweeSteden Hospital in the Netherlands

TweeSteden hospital was the first installation for the Theriak Medication Management solution in the Netherlands. The implementation began with a pilot project within the Cardiology Department and was rolled out to the whole organisation within a year. The system has been operational for over 5 years in TweeSteden hospital and two associated nursing homes and currently has over 1,200 users. TMM is also being installed into a neighbouring acute hospital St Elizabeth which will be integrated into a single medication management system across both sites.

The TMM system has been integrated with other key systems at the hospital to create a solution that covers the entire process of electronic prescribing, medication dispensing, administration and stock control.

Optimised Workflow Increases Safety

The TMM system has revolutionised they way TweeSteden hospital works and has greatly increased the quality of the medication process. A good example is the bedside verification process of administrations. All patients are now issued with barcoded wristbands as they are admitted to the hospital. Prescribed medication is labeled with a corresponding barcode. Administering nurses match the barcodes at bedside to ensure that the right patient receives the right medication at the right time and in the right dose. In addition to enhancing safety, this process is considerably more time efficient for nurses, that now have more time to care for patients.

Cost Savings Due to Optimised Processes

According to Dutch rules, pharmacies are obliged to review all prescriptions that they receive. This process is time consuming and labour intensive. The implementation of TMM has made this process much more efficient for the pharmacy at TweeSteden hospital.

The advanced decision support offered in TMM reviews all prescriptions and reports adverse reactions, drug interactions, gives allergy warnings and overdose warnings. The system filters all prescriptions made in the system and only forwards those prescriptions to the pharmacists where action needs to be taken.

Whereas before, pharmacists needed to review every paper prescription made in the hospital, often hours or days after the fact, the optimised workflow of TMM now requires only around 15% of all prescription have to be reviewed by pharmacists. The pharmacy has therefore been able to achieve considerable cost and time efficiencies as well as delivering higher quality in the medication review process.

50% Reduction of Medication Related Errors

The main aim of TweeSteden hospital in choosing a medication management system was to reduce human errors made during prescription and administering of medication within the hospital.  According to studies made by the hospital, medication related incidents have been reduced by over 50%.

Leading the Way in the Netherlands

“TMM has allowed us to lead the way in increasing patient safety in the Netherlands by reducing medication related errors significantly.  The system has met our expectations and in some ways exceeded them. It will continue to be an integral part in our work to increase patient safety and efficiency within our hospital.”