Inside Duke Medicine

‘6 Rights’ in 6 Months

Article series focuses on patient safety

Each year, approximately 1.5 million people are harmed by medication errors in hospitals.

That sobering estimate from the Institute of Medicine in 2006 quantified the cost of these potentially fatal errors at $3.5 billion a year.

The report started a nationwide conversation about medication safety.

This conversation continued at Duke Hospital in April, when Chief Operating Officer Kevin Sowers and Chief Nursing and Patient Care Services Officer Mary Ann Fuchs engaged an audience of clinicians in a discussion about the 6 Rights.

The 6 Rights are the steps of the medication delivery process. The meeting kicked-off a new campaign developed by the Medication Safety Committee and health system leadership to educate staff about safe administration of medications to patients.

As part of the campaign, the committee developed posters that show the steps in the medication delivery process. The posters will serve as a constant reminder to always use the 6 Rights when administering meds.

The 6 Rights are:

1. Right Patient
2. Right Drug
3. Right Dose
4. Right Route
5. Right Time
6. Right Outcome.

In an analysis by Strategic Services Associate Mary Jane Stillwagon, a Six Sigma Black Belt, 243 potential failures could occur during medication administration. Following the 6 Rights protocol can help to consistently ensure the safest delivery of medication to patients.

Other components of the campaign include highlighting the medication delivery process during orientation; an educational toolkit for local-level Med Safety Champions, and introduction of an online training module on safe medication delivery.

The campaign is part of the overall initiative to continually evaluate processes in order to support safe practices, said Sowers and Fuchs. Other components include the electronic medication ordering system, Safe Choices workshops and Just Culture training.

Over the next six months, Inside Duke Medicine and ECHO, Duke Hospital’s newsletter, will feature stories of the 6 Rights. Use these as a catalyst for conversations, including discussions about potential impediments and solutions for those potential breakdowns. The goal is to get everyone engaged in discussions about how to support and improve the safe delivery of medications to patients.

Please share your thoughts by contacting Lynn Eschenbacher, Pharm.D., medication safety officer, at 668-5398 or lynn.eschenbacher@duke.edu