The Impact Of Electronic Medication Administration Records (e-MAR) On Medication Administration Safety And Nurses' Work
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$735,675.00
Summary
The demands on health systems, both nationally and internationally, are growing, exacerbated by an ageing population and health workforce shortages. The incorporation of information technology into new health care delivery models promises both improvements in the safety and efficiency of care delivery. Medication errors are one of the most significant safety issues for health care systems. Medication management occupies a significant amount of nurses' time, and is also fraught with error potenti ....The demands on health systems, both nationally and internationally, are growing, exacerbated by an ageing population and health workforce shortages. The incorporation of information technology into new health care delivery models promises both improvements in the safety and efficiency of care delivery. Medication errors are one of the most significant safety issues for health care systems. Medication management occupies a significant amount of nurses' time, and is also fraught with error potential. One-third of all medication errors that cause patient harm arise from medication administration errors (MAEs). Electronic medication administration records (e-MARs) provide the potential to make the administration of medications safer for patients by reducing error rates, and also by allowing nurses to more efficiently manage medication tasks. However there is very limited research from Australia or overseas which has examined whether they computerised system work and in fact reduce error rates or save nurses time. In this project we will conduct prospective, controlled observational studies to determine the effectiveness of an electronic medication administration record (e-MAR) to reduce MAEs and the amount of time nurses spend in the medication administration process. The project will apply innovative data collection tools using PDA software purpose-built for these studies which have undergone extensive pilot testing in clinical settings. The results will have important implications for hospitals across Australia and internationally as they consider the implementation of e-MARs. This research will provide the first comprehensive data of medication administration errors in Australia against which future preventative error strategies can be evaluated. The results will provide the evidence needed to develop recommendations about how to reduce MAEs and improve the design of e-MARs.Read moreRead less
Supply, Demand And The Distribution Of Health Services In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$308,038.00
Summary
The distribution of medical services and its impact on access and equity is widely recognised as a key concern of the Australian community. Access and equity are key indicators to the public of the performance of a health system. These concerns have led to the adoption of major policy goals under Medicare relating to equitable access to medical services for the population as a whole. Furthermore, both the community and policy makers have expressed high levels of concern over the distribution of ....The distribution of medical services and its impact on access and equity is widely recognised as a key concern of the Australian community. Access and equity are key indicators to the public of the performance of a health system. These concerns have led to the adoption of major policy goals under Medicare relating to equitable access to medical services for the population as a whole. Furthermore, both the community and policy makers have expressed high levels of concern over the distribution of medical services between sub-markets and sub-populations, in particular, in the distribution of medical services between urban and rural-remote areas. This project, for the first time, comprehensively examines the performance of Medicare in terms of access to medical services over time. Australian data sets, largely untapped by economic modelling, will be used for analysis of the relationships between the distribution of, access to, and demand and fees for Australian medical services and their impact upon mortality over time. The study will result in the first comprehensive Australian description of access and supply of different medical services by social group and by geographic location over time. Furthermore it will provide evidence on the key determinants of distribution and changes in the distribution of medical services and estimates the likely effects of policy instruments designed to address the distribution of, and access to, medical services.Read moreRead less
Inter-rater Reliability And Predictive Validity Of A New Functional Capacity Evaluation For Chronic Back Pain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$105,794.00
Summary
Back pain costs the Australian community tens of billions of dollars. Back pain is one of the main causes of work injury and lost time from work. The longer a person is off work, the harder it is to get them back to work. Workers' compensation systems around Australia aim at getting the injured worker with back pain back to work as soon as possible. One of the difficulties in this process is determining what the person with back pain can physically do in the workplace. An evaluation technique, c ....Back pain costs the Australian community tens of billions of dollars. Back pain is one of the main causes of work injury and lost time from work. The longer a person is off work, the harder it is to get them back to work. Workers' compensation systems around Australia aim at getting the injured worker with back pain back to work as soon as possible. One of the difficulties in this process is determining what the person with back pain can physically do in the workplace. An evaluation technique, called functional capacity evaluation (known as FCE), is one method used to find out what the person with back pain physically can and cannot do. In a FCE, a trained health professional such as an occupational therapist, observes the person performing a range of physical activities like the ones he or she may have to perform in a job. The therapist closely observes the person performing activities such as lifting, carrying, kneeling, crouching, balancing, and walking and notes any limitations in the person's ability to complete the activities. The therapist makes comments about what difficulties the person may have on the job and recommendations about how these could be reduced or eliminated. The information gained from these evaluations can be valuable for the treating doctor in deciding whether the person is ready to go back to work and what duties the person can and cannot do on the job. Because of such value they provide, FCE is commonly used in rehabilitation programs endorsed by workers' compensation systems around Australia. This widespread use and endorsement of FCE occurs despite limited research on the soundness of the ratings made from these evaluations. There is a need to see whether recommendations made from FCEs are consistent between therapists (i.e. reliable) and to see if the FCE accurately predicts the person's physical capacity for work. This research will examine these issues with injured workers with back pain.Read moreRead less
Effects Of Circadian Disruption And Sleep Deprivation In Respiratory Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,000.00
Summary
This project aims to determine the impact of reduced sleep hours and jet lag-sleep time shift in two very common breathing disorders; sleep apnea (snoring sickness) and asthma. We will also make measurements in healthy normal people as well. Reduced sleep hours are common in many sections of society due to a number of factors, including increased work hours, overtime, shiftwork, medical conditions (sleep and other medical disorders), caring for a new baby, and other family and social demands. In ....This project aims to determine the impact of reduced sleep hours and jet lag-sleep time shift in two very common breathing disorders; sleep apnea (snoring sickness) and asthma. We will also make measurements in healthy normal people as well. Reduced sleep hours are common in many sections of society due to a number of factors, including increased work hours, overtime, shiftwork, medical conditions (sleep and other medical disorders), caring for a new baby, and other family and social demands. In addition, body clock disruption due to shiftwork, transmeridien travel, circadian based sleep disorders and other factors that shift the timing of normal sleep-wake behaviour is also very prevalent in today's society. The effects of reduced sleep hours and jet lag-sleep time shift effect a number of body systems but have only been studied to a limited extent in the breathing system. Jet lag-sleep time shift changes are result of changes to the body clock rhythms - these rhythms effect coordinate activities of essentially all bodily functions, vigilance and thinking, heart, breathing, hormones, bowel function and the immune system that fights off infection and cancer. Together, this body clock system and sleep coordinate the majority of systems of the body and brain. This project will address a number of questions including whether reduced sleep hours worsen brain function in sleep apnea or whether shifting sleep (jet lag effect) can worsen airway function and increase risk of asthma. We will use two types of study - simulated jet lag and reduced sleep hours under complete laboratory supervision to test our theoriesRead moreRead less
Depression And Anxiety In Working Adults: The Costs And Outcomes Of Working While Ill
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$137,292.00
Summary
Depressive and anxiety disorders are common in the working population and costly. Individuals can continue working while ill or take an absence from work. This study will evaluate the economic cost and health outcomes of these two scenarios, using existing and published data to develop descriptive models. We consider who pays and who benefits from the perspective of the individual, their employer and society, to inform policy making, management practices, and clinical care.