Redesigning the medication ordering, dispensing, and administration process in an acute care academic health sciences centre

Two simulation models have been built to quantify the advantages of an electronic medication ordering, dispensing and administration process compared with the current manual process at an acute care academic health sciences centre. The first model represents the current manual system, and has been validated against observed data. The second model represents the proposed electronic medication ordering, dispensing and administration system. The results show that there is a potential to significantly reduce the overall turnaround time (from the initiation of the order to the delivery of the medication to the wards) from 256 minutes to less than 123 minutes, a reduction in the pharmacokinetic failures from 16.3% to less than 5.7%, and a reduction in tight failures from 65.5% to less than 14.5%; thus improving the rate of first doses of medications that are delivered in time to be administered.