We are looking for advice on whether to capture multiple stages in the process of ordering, dispensing or administering medications on each Rx. The rationale for considering this idea is this:
Overall, orders are more indicative than dispenses of what clinicians attempt to do and might therefore be better indicators for things like guideline adherence. Dispenses, fills, and administration are better indications of what gets into patient’s bodies - we don’t have fills but this thread might inform those that do.
So, the question is whether it is possible or a good idea to capture more than one step in the process of Order -> Dispense -> Fill/Administer in order to support both analyses focused on guideline adherence and analyses focused on medication exposure.
The kinds of data we have depend on location. The question is further complicated because is the different meaning of the concepts of Order, Dispense, Administer, etc. in outpatient vs. inpatient settings.
All thoughts and advice will be greatly appreciated.