Tracer methodology is a technique to assess processes, communication, and coordination of the delivery of care in hospitals. The purpose of this tracer tool is to assist hospitals in evaluating the challenges and barriers by providing injectable medications in the most ready-to-use form and help prioritize and develop corrective action plans to improve the safety of injectable medications.
Created by Joint Commission Resources, and sponsored by Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC, we helped visualize the opportunity to build a product that can track real progress.
What’s at stake?
Errors in the hospital setting associated with injectable medications are more likely to result in death and morbidity than medications given through other routes of administration.
The risk of error exists not only in administration but also in the preparation and manipulation of medications. Therefore, the Joint Commission Medication Management standards direct that medications be dispensed in the most ready-to-administer (RTA) form as possible.
Even with that goal in mind, the reality is that there are often barriers.
This tool has been designed to identify those barriers to tailor performance improvement efforts and achieve the goal of dispensing medications in the most ready-to-administer (RTA) form possible.
Strategy for improvement
After securing legal rights to the name and crafting the product positioning, we built the case for a dynamic digital experience. Similar tracer tools in this space are traditionally analog/print-based, and we leveraged the opportunity to create sustained efforts for improvement with an easy-to-use digital survey. Built on an encrypted database, hospital institutions can set up free user accounts, add multiple contributors with various levels of permissions, and store survey modules for future comparison.
We mapped out an end-to-end journey to maximize awareness and adoption. Key elements of the campaign included:
- naming and overall position of RTA MedSafety;
- developing the go-to-market campaign strategy;
- developing a visual identity and brand communication;
- developing proof of concept screens to help demonstrate product viability and cost evaluation;
- UX/UI development of the web application;
- web application development (React and Emb);
- designing and developing pre-launch teaser microsites and websites;
- designing and producing various communication elements for RTA MedSafety launch events.
Closing the gap
Coordinating weekly status meetings, we led project development for both Joint Commission Resources and Fresenius Kabi, going live with the initiative within six months of conception. Now we monitor the continuous uptick in monthly account creation and activity of the Tracer Tool, as the goal of enabling sustainable improvement is in becoming a reality.
RTA MedSafety Online Tracer Tool.
