High-Alert Medication Stratification Tool-Revised: An Exploratory Study of an Objective, Standardized Medication Safety Tool

Objective To develop an objective tool designed to standardize the identification of high-alert medications (HAMs) according to patient safety risk. Methods Medications were evaluated using the High-Alert Medication Stratification Tool (HAMST). Tool revision occurred through assessing medications on an organization-approved HAM list and comparing scores with control medications not included on the list. Because of variations in HAMST interpretation by end users in interdisciplinary committees, a revision of the scoring tool was completed to create the High-Alert Medication Stratification Tool–Revised (HAMST-R), and the assessment was repeated. Both tools range from 0 to 10, with 10 describing agents with highest risk. Results The median (interquartile range [IQR]) initial HAM (n = 44) score using HAMST was 6 (5–7). The median (IQR) control (n = 45) score was 1 (0-2). Using the modified tool, HAMST-R, the median (IQR) HAM score was 4 (4–6) versus 1 (0–1) for controls. Scores for HAMs were significantly higher than controls using both tools (P
Source: Journal of Patient Safety - Category: Health Management Tags: Original Studies Source Type: research