Effect of bar-code technology on the incidence of medication dispensing errors and potential adverse drug events in a hospital pharmacy.
We performed a direct observation prepost study to evaluate the impact of barcode technology on medication dispensing errors and potential adverse drug events in the pharmacy of a tertiary-academic medical center. We found that barcode technology significantly reduced the rate of target dispensing errors leaving the pharmacy by 85%, from 0.37% to 0.06%. The rate of potential adverse drug events (ADEs) due to dispensing errors was also significantly reduced by 63%, from 0.19%to 0.069%. In a 735-bed hospital where 6 million doses of medications are dispensed per year, this technology is expected to prevent about 13,000 dispensing errors and 6,000 potential ADEs per year.
Poon
Eric G
EG
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Cina
Jennifer L
JL
Churchill
William W
WW
Mitton
Patricia
P
McCrea
Michelle L
ML
Featherstone
Erica
E
Keohane
Carol A
CA
Rothschild
Jeffrey M
JM
Bates
David W
DW
Gandhi
Tejal K
TK
D016303:Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*