Some procedure-related and clinic-administered medication orders at VUMC continue to persist as active orders on the patient medication list years after their initial order. This results in inaccurate data in the medical record and risk of inappropriate administration of medication.
Medication orders intended for use in ambulatory clinics or surgery centers should be active for a maximum of one year after the order is signed.
By April 17, the system will discontinue 57,296 medication orders older than one year since last action and administered fewer than three times, or orders older than two years since last action.
As a result:
- Medication will no longer appear on the patient medication list
- Medication will not be able to be administered from that order
A majority of orders are peri-procedural one-time medications older than 1 year without a documented administration.