2. StrategiestoRemove MedicationErrors 2
Abstract:
During the past few years, the medical safety and the issue of wiping out the medication
errors have taken a new shift, new and advance equipments are being developed to cope up with
the errors. The progression in the field of technology has opened new gates to the chances of
minimizing and even stopping the errors that occur in hospitals during the treatment. The
informatics barcode system and the computerized provider order entry system are the ground-
breaking inventions in the medical safety sphere. Both the systems are extensively used in
hospitals globally to control the medicinal mistakes that take place due to many possible reasons.
The research paper studies the effectiveness of both the systems’ implementation along with
their impact on the medical world.
Medicinal safety is one of the first things to be observed while prescribing and giving
medicines. Allergies related to medicines are extremely serious and requires a lot of care and
safety to prevent them. Hospitals around the globe are always looking for advance methods of
putting a stop on medication errors, the matter, being highly sensitive and incapable of tolerating
any degree of miscalculation, is considered as a finely tuned social and medical security affair.
Medical associations look for the modern and present day technology to minimize the chances of
medication errors as a considerable number of lives are at stake and in the hands of the
paramedical staff.
According to surveys and research reports, every year a huge amount of patients die
because of errors occurred due to wrong medicine and dosage. Similar names of the medicines,
drugs with similar spellings and the mistakes made by the paramedical staff in understanding the
amount of medicine’s dose are some of the chief reasons of medication errors. To prevent the
3. StrategiestoRemove MedicationErrors 3
problem from increasing further, FDA has proposed a method of informative bar-code, it is an
innovative technique designed to curtail the fatal medicinal errors taking place due to a number
of issues like misunderstood writing and similar sounding and spelling medicine names. With
informatics barcode system physicians are not required to write the prescriptions on the patients’
files but the whole process will be carried out with the help of barcoding method. Every patient
is given a barcoded identification wristband with unique identification number at the time of
their admission; the wristband connects the patient’s information with the hospital’s computer.
The nurses will be given laptops and scanners placed on top of the medication carts, they will
scan the barcode wristband for medicinal information before treating the patient.
The barcode will provide all the information related to the patient’s statistics and the
prescribed medicine, if the information does not match, a warning box will appear on the laptop.
Barcode system has diminished the threat of medication errors more than 80%, the hospitals
having informatics barcode system have experienced a significant decrease in the accidents that
occur due to medication errors. The provision of unique barcode number minimize the accidents
regarding medication as it decreases the chances of misunderstanding between the names of
medicines as well as the recommended amount of the therapeutic drugs.
Other than informatics barcode scanning, Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE)
has also been introduced as an attempt to stop, or minimize, the rate of medication errors from
going further. The system allows the physicians to input the medicine and its amount to the
hospital or medical centers’ computer, the information goes directly to the pharmacist within a
fraction of minutes. The CPOE, like informatics barcode, is a forward step in the world of
technology and safety in hospitals and other medical centers. The system is expected to reduce
the possibilities of fatal errors made due to misunderstood medicines’ names and dosages. The
4. StrategiestoRemove MedicationErrors 4
physicians, instead of writing on the patients’ files, will directly put the details in the computer
that will connect them to the pharmacist. The system is also anticipated to be cost effective, since
it is here to put an end to the traditional ways of paper pen prescription.
Apart from advantages of the respective system, some disadvantages have also been
noticed, some hospitals report of having increased number of medication errors due to the
implementation of CPOE. The decrease in conversation among the doctors and the nurses has
created problems in many places. Hospitals have suffered a significant number of deceased
patients because of the time consumed while putting in the details of the required medicine.
Previously, the conversation between the paramedical staff was the source of information in such
cases. Other than this, though the CPOE system has reduced the chances of misunderstandings
produced because of the intangible handwriting, drug name and the dosage, it has also reduced
the chances of inter-communication between the physicians and other staff members. This
reduction in the communication has given rise to the misunderstanding between the staff and
doctors, some medicines and their dosage need more specification than the others, which is not
possible in barcode system.
Both the systems of informatics barcode and CPOE are devised to minimize the chances
of medication errors and to ensure increased patient safety, but it is also necessary to keep them
up to date according to the ever changing needs of the hospital and patients. The informatics
barcode system is a revolutionary technique to eradicate medication errors. It also helps in
eliminating the loss of precious lives and is found to be utterly dependable and proficient. The
CPOE system, on the other hand, still needs some finishing touches to be entirely reliable;
moreover, the system needs to have time to time updating to guarantee its effectiveness unlike
the barcode system.
5. StrategiestoRemove MedicationErrors 5
Sources
Psnet.ahrq.gov Computerized Provider Order Entry [Electronic Version]. Retrieved on
September, 24, 2013 from http://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer.aspx?primerID=6
www.ahrq.gov AHRQ Study Shows Using Bar-code Technology with eMAR Reduces Medication
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http://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsletters/patient-safety/59.html
www.cceb.upenn.edu (2008) An Introduction to Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE)
[Electronic Version]. Retrieved on September, 24, 2013 from
http://www.cceb.upenn.edu/news/?id=214&category=2
www.fda.gov Strategies to Reduce Medication Errors: Working to Improve Medication Safety
[Electronic Version]. Retrieved on September, 24, 2013 from
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm143553.htm
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