Vol. 43 No. 2 February 2012 449Poster Abstracts

from participating providers, and case discus-sion and recommendations provided by theUNM IDT.

Result. Feasibility was demonstrated. Providersatisfaction was high. Self-efficacy improved.Sense of isolation decreased.

Conclusion. The Palliative Medicine ECHOclinic at the University of New Mexico has dem-onstrated a new model for training rural primarycare providers in care for patients at end of life.

Implications for Research, Policy, or Practice.This program can serve as a model for trainingof mid-career clinicians dealing with patients atend of life, and expansion of this model to otherregions in the country will be discussed.

Impact of an Electronic Medication ErrorReporting System in a Hospice Organization(749)Mina Kim, Pharm.D, University of WashingtonMedical Center, Fullerton, CA. Mary LynnMcPherson, Pharm.D BCPS, University of Mary-land School of Pharmacy, Baltimore MD. SheilaWeiss Smith, PhD, University of MarylandSchool of Pharmacy, Baltimore MD. ElizabethKopochis, RN MS, Seasons Healthcare Manage-ment, Rosemont, IL.

Objectives1. Observe the impact of the implementation of

an electronic-based reporting system on theoccurrence of medication error reports inthe hospice setting.

2. Recognize barriers to medication error re-porting in hospice and attitudes of hospiceclinical staff members regarding medicationerror reporting.

Background. Reporting medication errors areimportant as they allow weak points in the healthcare system to be identified andhelp guide systemchanges needed to improve safety for patients.Numerous studies have shown the positive impacton the volume of reports through the implemen-tation of electronic reporting systems.

Research Objectives. The purpose of this studyis to examine the impact of the implementationof an electronic-based reporting system on theoccurrence of medication error reports in thehospice setting.

Method. An electronic medication error report-ing system was developed and an inservice wasprovided to participants. Medication error

reports were collected and analyzed comparingtwo specific time-periods. The pre-interventiondata was collected for a two year period andconsisted of medication error reports from thehospicea�s paper-based system. The post-inter-vention data was collected for a 120 day periodand consisted of reports from the newly elec-tronic-based system.

Result. Prior to the implementation of the elec-tronic medication error reporting system, therewas an average of 0.9 error reports submittedper month over a two year period. The averagenumber of error reports with the new electronicsystem increased to 8 reports per 30 day period.Most of the medication errors reported were ad-ministration errors which were consistent whencomparing pre- and post-intervention reports.A majority of medication errors resulted in noharm to the patients but almost a third of pa-tients did experience some form of harm.

Conclusion. The implementation of an elec-tronic medication error reporting system led toan increase in medication error reporting ratesin a hospice organization.

Implications for Research, Policy, or Practice.The hospice setting has little to no research con-ducted on medication errors. This study looks toshow the positive impact of an electronic report-ing system on medication error reporting inhospice.

Medication Error Reporting Practices inHospice (750)Mina Kim, Pharm.D, University of WashingtonMedical Center, Fullerton, CA. Mary LynnMcPherson, Pharm.D BCPS, University of Mary-land School of Pharmacy, Baltimore MD.

Objectives1. Better understand the current status ofmedica-

tion error reporting in hospice organizations.2. Become aware of barriers to medication error

reporting in hospice.3. Recognize attitudes of hospice clinical staff

members regarding medication errorreporting.

Background. Hospice organizations have little tono published data on medication errors. Due tothe limited data on this topic, the goal of this re-search was to gather information and establishthe current status of medication error reportingin hospice organizations.