Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia.
Int J Med Inform. 2010 Jun;79(6):e116-25. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.08.005. Epub 2008 Nov 12.
To examine the medication advice-seeking network of staff in a hospital ward.
Social network analysis was carried out in a renal ward of an Australian metropolitan teaching hospital. The medication advice-seeking interactions of doctors, nurses, allied health professionals (including a pharmacist) and a ward clerk were examined using data from questionnaires administered to staff. The questionnaire listed all staff who worked in the ward and sought information from respondents regarding their interactions with each staff member. Data were analysed using social network software, UCINET. Analyses performed included geodesic distance, network density, strength of ties, reciprocation of relations, and centrality of individuals. NetDraw was used to produce social network diagrams.
A very high response rate of 96% was achieved with 45 of 47 staff returning the questionnaire. On average, there is little interaction between each of the staff members in the medication advice-seeking network, with even less interaction between staff from different professional groups. Nurses are mainly located on one side of the network and doctors on the other. However, the pharmacist is quite central in the medication advice-seeking network as are some senior nurses and a junior doctor.
When hospital clinical staff seek medication advice from other members of a ward it tends to be sought from those in their profession. However key individuals in the ward are relied upon for the provision of medication advice by staff from all professions. Social network analysis can be used to examine the complex medication advice-seeking interactions amongst staff in a hospital ward, providing useful quantitative baseline data against which to compare the effect of interventions, such as an electronic medication system, on interactions.
调查医院病房工作人员的药物咨询网络。
在澳大利亚大都市教学医院的肾脏病房进行社会网络分析。使用问卷调查医护人员、辅助卫生专业人员（包括药剂师）和病房文员的药物咨询互动数据，对医生、护士、辅助卫生专业人员（包括药剂师）和病房文员的药物咨询互动进行社会网络分析。问卷列出了所有在病房工作的工作人员，并向受访者询问他们与每位工作人员的互动情况。使用社会网络软件 UCINET 分析数据。进行的分析包括测地线距离、网络密度、关系强度、关系互惠和个体中心性。使用 NetDraw 生成社会网络图。
非常高的响应率为 96%，有 47 名工作人员中的 45 名返回了问卷。平均而言，药物咨询网络中每个工作人员之间的互动很少，不同专业群体之间的互动更少。护士主要位于网络的一侧，医生则位于另一侧。然而，药剂师在药物咨询网络中处于相当中心的位置，一些资深护士和一位年轻医生也是如此。
当医院临床工作人员向病房其他成员寻求药物建议时，他们往往会向同专业的人寻求建议。然而，病房中的关键人员会依赖所有专业的工作人员提供药物建议。社会网络分析可用于调查医院病房工作人员之间复杂的药物咨询互动，为干预措施（如电子药物系统）对互动的影响提供有用的定量基线数据。
