Use and validation of a survey tool to measure the perceived effectiveness of insulin prescribing safety interventions in UK hospitals

• Published in: Diabetic medicine Vol. 37; no. 12; pp. 2027 - 2034
• Main Authors: Bain, A., Hasan, S. S., Kavanagh, S., Babar, Z.‐U.‐D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-12-2020
• Subjects: Computerized physician order entry; Diabetes; Hospitals; Insulin; Questionnaires; Safety; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 0742-3071; 1464-5491
• DOI: 10.1111/dme.14351

Aims
To describe the use and validation of a survey tool to elicit the opinion of hospital pharmacists and medicines safety officers in the UK regarding the perceived effectiveness of strategies to improve insulin prescribing safety in hospitals.
Methods
One respondent from each participating organization completed the survey on behalf of the main acute hospital in their trust (n = 92). A five‐point Likert scale was used to determine opinion on how effective 22 different interventions were at promoting insulin safety at the respondent’s trust. The tool, the Perception of Effectiveness of Prescribing Safety Interventions for Insulin (PEPSII) questionnaire, underwent content validity testing. The reliability was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha (α).
Results
The PEPSII questionnaire demonstrated good reliability (α = 0.867). Outreach team review and mandatory insulin education were the highest‐scoring interventions; the insulin passport was amongst the lowest scoring interventions. Most interventions were considered more effective by trusts using them compared to those who didn't, except for self‐administration policies, electronic prescribing and the insulin passport.
Conclusions
The perceived effectiveness of a variety of insulin prescribing safety strategies in UK hospitals was described by leveraging a purposely developed survey tool. The results describe current levels of support for recommended interventions, and may facilitate the direction of both local and national insulin prescribing safety improvement efforts.
What's new?
Insulin prescription errors still commonly occur in the hospital setting.
Many strategies have been developed to overcome possible hindrances to guaranteeing the safety and quality of insulin prescriptions, but no common tool has been developed to identify the best fit for both strategy and local organizational requirements.
Outreach team review, mandatory insulin education and local guidelines on managing hypoglycaemia were the highest‐scoring interventions.
The uptakes of both the insulin passport and insulin order forms were low, and these interventions were not perceived to be effective.