Decision Health

Once a surveyor sees [a] massive frost growth in the [medication freezer], expect a temperature check, because it’s likely the temperature in the fridge is not in the correct range, says Sharon L. Bradley, vice president of Clinical HealthCare Consulting at Marsh, a strategic risk consultancy. These are just some of the ways hospitals get tripped up when surveyors check for compliance with the medication management standard, the hardest standard for hospitals to meet…

For instance nurses may hoard medications to keep them readily available. Private stashes of medications are not unheard of. “It’s still better to wait for it to be dispensed by the pharmacy,” says Monica Santoro, senior vice president of Marsh’s Clinical HealthCare Consulting division, because they can check for allergy interactions, drug interactions, and proper dosing…