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Six sample tracer topics to prepare staff for survey

Pharmacy Regulation Resource, September 1, 2005

Organizations that have been surveyed recently are in unanimous agreement on one point: the most effective survey preparation activity they undertook was mock tracers.

The more often those organizations conducted mock tracers, the better their staff were able to field questions from surveyors during a JCAHO inspection.

The following are six sample topics to cover with staff during a mock tracer activity:

  • How do you identify the patient when administering medications? Walk me through the process. Observe medications being administered to the patient.
  • Where are medications stored on this unit? Look for orderliness; separation of look-alike and sound-alike drugs; cleanliness; refrigerator temperature monitoring and action if necessary; medication security; etc.
  • Have you been involved in the medication reconcilation process? Can you demonstrate it for your patient?
  • Is the pharmacy open 24 hours? If not, how do you obtain medications when it is closed?
  • What happens if a physician uses an unacceptable abbreviation in an order? Does that happen often?
  • How do you take telephone orders?

    Source: "Ready, Set, JCAHO! New Questions, Games, and Other Strategies to Prepare Your Staff for Survey, Third Edition." ©2005 HCPro, Inc. For more information, call customer service at 800/650-6787 or visit www.hcmarketplace.com.

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