To reduce the volume of patient contact and preserve PPE, we review medication profiles to consolidate administration time on a case by cases basis at this time.

We recently received an Epic recommendation as follows:

Bundle Medication Administrations and Other Tasks for Admitted Patients:

To reduce the volume of patient contact and preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), consider what opportunities you have to combine medication administrations and other tasks. For example, Eisenhower Health (Rancho Mirage, CA) has implemented a workflow where nurses and CNAs administer medications, deliver food, perform assessments, bathe patients, and change linens in visits to patient rooms at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bed. Clinicians and pharmacists collaborate to create specific plans for each patient. By bundling care in this way, Eisenhower is conserving resources and reducing the risk of exposing more people to disease. A first step you can take to support workflows like this is to change the acceptable time window for administering medications from the default of one hour before the due time to 2-3 hours before the due time.

My concern that administration time window can be medication-specific but not patient-specific (i.e., not for COVID-19 confirmed/suspected cases only). There are also time-critical medications that have a 30-minute window before scheduled time and changing them to 2-3 hours for all is a concern.

Has anyone implemented or considered this recommendation?
What concerns/challenges have you encountered?

Thank you in advance for your responses.