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With Birdie Analytics being an incredibly powerful tool, we want to ensure you get the best possible experience when using it. One example of its powerful auditing capabilities is for medication auditing.
Medication auditing is reviewing your past medication results over a period of time. Having clarity over this will not only increase care quality for the agency but become a key piece of information to present when undergoing a CQC inspection.
What Report Can I Use to Audit Medication?
For this, we want to use the Care Delivery by Client report, which is one of the 5 Weekly Updates reports.
To find it, start on your Birdie Analytics home screen and scroll down to the Weekly Updates, and select Care Delivery by Client
Once you've opened this report, scroll to the bottom and you'll see the 'Medication Monitoring' section. Here we can see the Client name on the left, along with how many medication tasks have been completed in the middle column and on the right we have the percentage of medication tasks complete.
Remember: When we talk about medication tasks completed, that doesn’t mean that the medication needs to be fully taken - what we mean is that the carers have recorded some kind of medication outcome.
If the percentage here is not 100%, that means that some medication outcomes for this client have not been recorded, which means that there will be some question marks on the MAR chart.
It's important to provide evidence to the CQC that there are no gaps in the MAR chart, as this demonstrates safe and effective care.
How to Audit the report
If there’s a Client with less than 100% of medications complete, you can investigate this further by clicking on the % number.
You’ll then see a full list of all their medications and when they were taken. When nothing has been recorded you will see a circle with a line through it, as you can see below.
You can also download this information for your records or as part of your auditing process. To do this, click the 'Download' button in the top right corner.
For guidance on how to action incomplete medication information read the Analysing & Addressing Incomplete Medication Information section below.
Analysing & Addressing Incomplete Medication Information
When you find incomplete medication records, first check and update the MAR chart for the Client in your Agency Hub. Any changes you make will be automatically tracked and logged, creating your audit trail.
If you notice patterns of missing medication records, it's important to investigate the root cause. Here are some key areas to investigate:
1. Verify Medication Type
Check if the medication would be better as a scheduled or PRN (as needed)
For PRN medications, verify if the gap is actually appropriate
Review medication schedules in the visit plan (are there visits when the medication should be given)
2. Investigate Common Causes
Supply Issues
Has the medication run out?
Are there issues with pharmacy deliveries?
Is there a prescription renewal needed?
Client-Related Factors
Is the Client regularly refusing the medication?
Has their condition or needs changed?
Is there a swallowing difficulty or other administration challenge?
Care Delivery Issues
Is the medication listed correctly in the visit card?
Are visit times aligned with medication schedules?
Do Carers have proper access to medication storage?
3. Carer Support and Training
If gaps are due to recording issues:
Verify Carers understand medication recording procedures
Check if additional training is needed on:
Medication administration techniques
Using the Birdie system
Understanding different medication types
Handling Client refusals
PRN medication protocols
4. Documentation and Follow-up
For each identified gap:
Cross-reference with the MAR chart in Agency Hub
Make necessary outcome updates
Document the reason for any changes
Record any actions taken or required
Set up monitoring for recurring issues
5. Quality Improvement Steps
Based on audit findings:
Update care plans if medication needs have changed
Revise visit schedules if timing is an issue
Implement additional checks for problem areas
Schedule relevant training sessions
Review medication storage and access procedures
How to download the full rows
When viewing or downloading a report on Looker, it defaults to showing 500 rows, even if more rows of data are available.
You can change this by going to the data dropdown, and adding in a custom number e.g. 10000, then clicking run. This will update and show over 500 rows of data.
When you download the report from Looker, you can select All Results or a custom number of rows e.g. 10000, so that it downloads all the data for you.
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