Purpose: To examine the medication advice-seeking network of staff in a hospital ward.
Methods: 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.
Results: 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 adviceseeking
network as are some senior nurses and a junior doctor.
Conclusions: 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.