Coursework Example on Lean Six Sigma: Prescription Errors Process Improvement

Prescription errors are a common occurrence in the medical field, and they are defined as a failure in the process of writing a prescription which ends up in incorrect instructions in standard features of prescriptions. Standard features of a proper prescription process contain the identity of recipients, type of drug, formulation, timing, dosage, duration of use, and the frequency of use (Fuwad, Ramasamy, Sebastian, Ashique, Mathew & Yalla, 2015). Prescription errors influence the quality of healthcare and the safety of the patient. This paper aims at exploring the charter on prescription errors process improvement.

This process improvement charter outlines the activities that that will be performed in the Define Phase of Six Sigma. The charter will be used as a yardstick to measure how the process is getting undertaken and whether all the due procedures are being followed (Furterer, 2016). Seven elements of this process charter that will be outlined are the business case, problem statement, purpose, value, scope, team, and schedule. The elements of the prescription errors charter are described below

Business Case

The primary goal of taking this project is to minimize prescription errors as this will result in better outcomes of prescriptions while also maintaining credibility.

Problem Statement

Prescription errors have been regarded as the leading causes of poor quality care and blow safety levels in many facilities. Developing a mechanism to minimize prescription errors has the effect of improving healthcare outcomes.

Purpose

The goal of improving prescription errors process is to promote better process outcomes with minimal errors while also increasing the safety levels.

Value

Prescription errors play a critical role in defining how outcomes are shaped. Minimizing the errors will save on costs resulting from the errors while also advancing safety standards.

Scope

The process will cover errors potentially dangerous to a patient, major nuisance, minor problem, and trivial.

Team

The team will be comprised of project managers, leaders, and team members.

Schedule

The process can take up to six months and requires the records of all the necessary documentation. The Project managers will give details of the resources needed.

In conclusion, as postulated by Evans & Lindsay (2014), the charter on prescription errors process improvement must be readily available to all staff at all times. This intervention is necessary since this document and its analysis is imperative to getting the process progresses according to the plan.

References

Evans, J. R., & Lindsay, W. M. (2014). An introduction to Six Sigma and process improvement. Cengage Learning.

Furterer, S. L. (Ed.). (2016). Lean Six Sigma in service: applications and case studies. CRC Press.

Fuwad, A., Ramasamy, R., Sebastian, A., Ashique, M., Mathew, R. J., & Yalla, U. T. (2015).

The application of Lean Six Sigma to provide high quality, reliable health care. Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 81-81.