Changing practice to support service delivery Office of the Nursing Services Director
Introduction Irish law was amended in May 2007 to give prescriptive authority to nurses and midwives under specific conditions. The legislation allows a registered nurse or midwife who has completed an approved education programme, has the appropriate clinical experience, is registered with An Bord Altranais as a Registered Nurse Prescriber (RNP), and has authority from their health service provider to prescribe a range of medications within their scope of practice. The first Nurse and Midwife Prescribers in Ireland were registered with An Bord Altranais at the end of January 2008. The National Resource and Implementation Group on Nurse and Midwife Prescribing, established by the Minister for Health and Children to guide the developments, recognised at an early stage that this major service development would require a standardised approach to monitoring. It was agreed to use a National Nurse and Midwife Prescribing Minimum Dataset to record and monitor the introduction of prescriptive authority for nurses and midwives across the country (see Table). However, it was recognised that many organisations did not have processes to conduct this monitoring, so a system needed to be developed to collect the information. Nurse and Midwife Prescribing The Office of the Nursing Services Director commissioned the development of an IT system to provide a simple, user-friendly, readily accessible way of collecting and reporting the information in a comparable format. Funding was provided by the Health Service Executive and the contract was awarded to the company Client Solutions Limited in early January 2008. The system came into operation in early February 2008. Purpose of the System To allow each individual nurse and midwife prescriber to report on the number of prescriptions written by them and for what principle clinical indication (prophylaxis, diagnosis or treatment) over the two-year review period. Office of the Nursing Services Director 2
Accessing the System Access to the system is at www.nurseprescribng.ie. The system is password protected - access is role-based and restricted to the Registered Nurse Prescriber(s), the Prescribing Site Coordinator and the Director of Nursing/Midwifery/Public Health Nursing. For ease of use, registration is self-service and online. New users are requested to summit a registration request form for verification and approval by the system administrator at the Office of the Nursing Services Director. Passwords are system generated, unknown to any other person, and issued when confirmed that the applicant s name is on the Registered Nurse Practitioners Division of the register maintained by An Bord Altranais. Security The system is in compliance with the requirements of the Data Protection Acts. The patient s medical record number (MRN) is used as a unique identifier to count the number of patients treated - the number is encrypted and is not reported outside of the organisation. A privacy statement is incorporated. All information is entered retrospectively and is not linked in any way to individual patients. Patient or clinical information is not recorded in the system. The information input is owned by the organisation where the service is delivered. User Roles For security and access purposes, users are assigned to security roles. These roles govern the functionality available to each individual user, for example: Registered Nurse Prescriber Prescribing Site Coordinator Director of Nursing/Midwifery/Public Health Nursing HSE Prescribing Area Coordinator HSE Prescribing National Coordinator Application Administrator. 3
System Description The structure comprises a navigation bar and three simple screens for data input. Input for a prescription item takes less than 30 seconds and involves 13 simple clicks. No new skills are required for the use of the system. Navigation Features New Prescription: the form allows the Registered Nurse Prescriber (RNP) to record the prescription information (minimum dataset). Last Prescription: assists the RNP to identify the last prescription entered to the system. Search Prescription: enables a user to search for saved prescriptions over a time period. The action is dependent on the role of the logged-in user. My Profile: allows users to update their own details and select from a master list of medicinal products the names of drugs they have prescriptive authority to prescribe within their scope of practice. 4
Reporting: allows the user to run a suite of standardised reports, for a selected period of time, dependent on the role of the logged-in user. Glossary: leads the user to the standard definitions for the minimum data set and information for all terms used in the system. Resources: will provide access to key support material for RNPs. Alerts: provides for notices to be shared among system users and the Office of the Nursing Services Director. Privacy Statement: leads the user to the detailed statement. Help: provides hints and contact details for the system support team Logout: provides a quick exit from the system. Standardised Reports One of the great advantages of the system is its facility for preparing standard reports and exporting information for further statistical analysis. Report running privileges are role-based, and reports can be accessed by RNPs, Prescribing Site Co-ordinators, Prescribing Area Co-ordinators and Directors of Nursing and Midwifery. System Highlights User friendly Requires minimum time input Offers a structured, standardised approach Uses an intuitive logic and is based on existing skills Requires minimal training Includes an automated password functionality incorporating response for forgotten password RNPs can maintain their own user profile Access via web ensures optimum accessibility and availability of the system. Provides a tool to demonstrate the scope of RNP practice and continuing competence. Allows for immediate availability of standard reports at four levels (RNP, organisation, HSE area and nationally) Incorporates a robust security model. 5
Education and Training An education and training manual is provided to all users. An online demonstration system is provided within the system. Online help is available. Staff of the Office of the Nursing Services Director provide the education and training sessions to all Registered Nurse Prescribers and Prescribing Site Coordinators/Directors of Nursing. Table Minimum Dataset: Standard Definitions Data Field Definition 1 Site Name (title) of employer (specific organisation/service) where the nurse/midwife prescriber is employed 2 Personal Identification Personal Identification Number (PIN) issued by An Bord Altranais for each Number (PIN) individual nurse/midwife on the Register of Nurses maintained by the Board. The PIN number is written on every prescription as required by legislation 3 Clinical Area Clinical area of authorised prescriber s practice within the place of employment e.g. Emergency Department, Midwifery, Home Care, Occupational Health, Diabetic Services, Addiction Counselling Only one clinical area can be attributed to each Registered Nurse/Midwife Prescriber 4 Date Date on which prescription was written, expressed in European format e.g. DD/MMM/YYYY (three-letter month) 5 Shift Time period during which the prescription was written Morning (08:00-11:59) Afternoon (12:00-15:59) Evening (16:00-19:59) Night (20:00-07:59) 6 Medical Record Medical Record Number (MNR) of the patient for whom the prescription was Number (MRN) written. Each patient is assigned a unit number which is printed on the outside of the healthcare record chart and used as a unique identifier for that patient. If the organisation does not use a MRN use first initials and date of birth as follows: first initial of first (given) name and first initial of surname (family) followed by date of birth DD/MM/YYYY e.g. MF08112007. 6
Table Minimum Dataset: Standard Definitions continued Data Field Definition 7 Prescription Mode Medium by which the prescription was written: Medication Record (Kardex) Pre-printed card used for patients/service users who are in the hospital/service over night or attending for day care treatments Prescription Pad Written prescription given to a patient attending a clinic or being discharged for use at home Electronic Prescription Information communication system used for inputting, transmitting and/or printing a prescription for patients/service users 8 Clinical Indication Principal clinical indication for which the drug is being prescribed Prophylaxis The administration of drugs to preserve health, reduce the number of carriers of a disease or prevent others contracting disease* Diagnosis The determination of the nature of a case of disease* Treatment Treatment aimed at reversing the causal factor in a disease* *Stedman s Medical Dictionary, Lippincott Williams & Willkins (2004, 2006) 9 Medicinal Product Official name of the medicinal product. Where possible generic name should be used. When not appropriate the brand name is acceptable. Abbreviations for the drug name should not be used. The generic name indicates the active ingredients of the medication unlike the brand name (trademark) of a drug which is coined by the manufacturer in agreement with the regulating agencies. 10 Dose The quantity (specified amount) of medication to be administered at any one time expressed in the relevant standard unit of measurement 11 Frequency The number of doses within a given time period 12 Route The path by which the medicinal product, fluid or other substance is administered 7
Office of the Nursing Services Director Human Resources Directorate Health Service Executive Dr Steevens Hospital Dublin 8 Ireland telephone: +353 1 635 2471 email: nursing.services@hse.ie www.hse.ie May 2008 Office of the Nursing Services Director