Using bar-code point-of-care technology for patient safety.
Patient safety, in particular, medication safety, has become a major issue for healthcare providers, payers, and patients. Medication errors occur at an alarming rate, and the majority of non-intercepted medication errors originate at the point of care when a nurse mistakenly administers a medication. The 1999 Institute of Medicine report called for increasing the use of information technology to reduce medication errors. Realizing a 59% to 70% decrease in medication administration errors on individual nursing units, this hospital demonstrates how bar code point-of-care medication administration systems successfully track, reduce, and prevent bedside medicationerrors while having a positive effect on nursing satisfaction.
Anderson
Sherry
S
St Marys Hospital Medical Center, Madison, WI, USA. sherry_anderson@ssmhc.com
Wittwer
Wendy
W
D016303:Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital; D015969:National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, U.S., Health and Medicine Division; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000600:supply & distribution; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D014922:Wisconsin