Projects Include:

Evaluate the rollout of electronic prescribing with bespoke paediatric decision support suitable to the UK setting across secondary and tertiary services in a children’s hospital.

Staff perspectives in relation to practices, processes and policies for the prescribing and administration of medicines.

The implementation of electronic paediatric prescribing in paediatric hospital ward settings: understanding and evaluating the effects of implementing an electronic paediatric prescribing system on care provision and hospital work in paediatric hospital ward.

Prescribing medicines for children is more complex and can present greater risks than prescribing medicines for adults, so it is particularly important to understand what happens when prescribing systems change in a children’s hospital. We aim to understand and are evaluating the effects of implementing an electronic paediatric prescribing system on care provision and hospital work in paediatric hospital ward settings in a qualitatively driven before, during and after mixed-method study. Research on the pre-implementation phase is in progress and includes a qualitative exploration of the ward nurse role in managing risk associated with prescribing and administering medicines to children. To understand the experiences of other organisations which have implemented electronic prescribing systems, a systematic review of qualitative studies is exploring perceptions and experiences of the implementation, management, use and optimisation of electronic prescribing systems in hospital settings.

Study lead: c dot l dot cummins at bham dot ac dot uk, University of Birmingham