The FENIKS project

Hospital pharmacist Afke van de Plas explains how the FENIKS project has led to a decrease in the number of medication errors. In 2010 FENIKS was given the National Patient Safety Award for the safety management system VMS.

The Pharmacy department in a Maastricht hospital have implemented a project that allows parental medication to be prepared by assistant pharmacists instead of nurse. Despite initial concerns from the nurses about a potential erosion of their role, they appreciated the time for other activities of the wards. By conducting this preparation in a less stressful environment the specialised assistant pharmacists could produce products of higher quality leading to an increase in patient safety. Error rates are reported to have fell 39% and a reduction in contamination of products by 9%. An increase in safety was also seen with more checks performed by the nurses before administration using bar code technology. This project is looking to expand onto other wards, and also perform a safe round the clock service to patients, despite the tough financial climate.