Veterans Affairs bar-code-scanning system reduces medication errors

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (7) ◽  
pp. 591-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Young
Keyword(s):  
Medication Errors ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Scanning System ◽  
Bar Code

Detection of potential look-alike/sound-alike medication errors using Veterans Affairs administrative databases

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (19) ◽  
pp. 1460-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica M. Zacher ◽  
Francesca E. Cunningham ◽  
Xinhua Zhao ◽  
Muriel L. Burk ◽  
Von R. Moore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medication Errors ◽  
Chart Review ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Error Rates ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Administrative Databases ◽  
Potential Error ◽  
Actual Error ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Use

Abstract Purpose Results of a study to estimate the prevalence of look-alike/sound-alike (LASA) medication errors through analysis of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data are reported. Methods Veterans with at least 2 filled prescriptions for 1 medication in 20 LASA drug pairs during the period April 2014–March 2015 and no history of use of both medications in the preceding 6 months were identified. First occurrences of potential LASA errors were identified by analyzing dispensing patterns and documented diagnoses. For 7 LASA drug pairs, potential errors were evaluated via chart review to determine if an actual error occurred. Results Among LASA drug pairs with overlapping indications, the pairs associated with the highest potential-error rates, by percentage of treated patients, were tamsulosin and terazosin (3.05%), glipizide and glyburide (2.91%), extended- and sustained-release formulations of bupropion (1.53%), and metoprolol tartrate and metoprolol succinate (1.48%). Among pairs with distinct indications, the pairs associated with the highest potential-error rates were tramadol and trazodone (2.20%) and bupropion and buspirone (1.31%). For LASA drug pairs found to be associated with actual errors, the estimated error rates were as follows: lamivudine and lamotrigine, 0.003% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0–0.01%); carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine, 0.03% (95% CI, 0–0.09%); and morphine and hydromorphone, 0.02% (95% CI, 0–0.05%). Conclusion Through the use of administrative databases, potential LASA errors that could be reviewed for an actual error via chart review were identified. While a high rate of potential LASA errors was detected, the number of actual errors identified was low.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF BARCODE MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION ON PATIENT SAFETY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seham Sahal Aloufi
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Patient Safety ◽  
Medication Error ◽  
Medication Errors ◽  
Improve Patient Safety ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Medication Administration ◽  
Bar Code ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Patient

Patient safety is considered as an essential feature of healthcare system. Many trials have been conducted in order to find ways to improve patient safety, and many reports indicate that medication errors pose a threat to patient safety. Thus, some studies have investigated the impact of bar code medication administration (BCMA) system on medication error reduction during the medication administration procedure. This systematic review (SR) reports the impact of BCMA system on reducing medication errors to improve patient safety; it also compares traditional medication administration with the BCMA system. The review concentrates on the effectiveness of BCMA technology on medication administration errors, and on the accuracy of medication administration. This review also focused on different designs of quantitative studies, as they are more effective at investigating the impact of the intervention than qualitative studies. The findings from this systematic review show various results depending on the nature of the hospital setting. Most of the studies agree that the BCMA system enhances compliance with the 'five rights’' requirement (right drug, right patient, right dose, right time and right route) of medication administration. In addition, BCMA technology identified medication error types that could not be identified with the traditional approach which is applying the 'five rights' of medication administration. The findings of this systematic review also confirm the impact of BCMA system in reducing medication error, preventing adverse events and increasing the accuracy of the medication administration rate. However, BCMA technology did not consistently reduce the overall errors of medication administration. Keyword: Patient Safety, Impact, BCMA, eMAR

Technology and medication errors: impact in nursing homes

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Baril ◽  
Viviane Gascon ◽  
Liette St-Pierre ◽  
Denis Lagacé
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Medication Error ◽  
Medication Errors ◽  
Medication Administration ◽  
Error Type ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Bar Code ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Healthcare Administrators

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study a medication distribution technology's (MDT) impact on medication errors reported in public nursing homes in Québec Province. Design/methodology/approach – The work was carried out in six nursing homes (800 patients). Medication error data were collected from nursing staff through a voluntary reporting process before and after MDT was implemented. The errors were analysed using: totals errors; medication error type; severity and patient consequences. A statistical analysis verified whether there was a significant difference between the variables before and after introducing MDT. Findings – The results show that the MDT detected medication errors. The authors' analysis also indicates that errors are detected more rapidly resulting in less severe consequences for patients. Practical implications – MDT is a step towards safer and more efficient medication processes. Our findings should convince healthcare administrators to implement technology such as electronic prescriber or bar code medication administration systems to improve medication processes and to provide better healthcare to patients. Originality/value – Few studies have been carried out in long-term healthcare facilities such as nursing homes. The authors' study extends what is known about MDT's impact on medication errors in nursing homes.

Parenteral to Oral Conversion of Fluoroquinolones: Low-Hanging Fruit for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs?

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Jones ◽  
Benedikt Huttner ◽  
Karl Madaras-Kelly ◽  
Kevin Nechodom ◽  
Christopher Nielson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Care ◽  
Safety Issue ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medication Administration ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Bar Code ◽  
Patient Safety Issue ◽  
Va Hospitals

Objective.To estimate avoidable intravenous (IV) fluoroquinolone use in Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals.Design.A retrospective analysis of bar code medication administration (BCMA) data.Setting.Acute care wards of 128 VA hospitals throughout the United States.Methods.Data were analyzed for all medications administered on acute care wards between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2010. Patient-days receiving therapy were expressed as fluoroquinolone-days (FD) and divided into intravenous (IV; all doses administered intravenously) and oral (PO; at least one dose administered per os) FD. We assumed IV fluoroquinolone use to be potentially avoidable on a given IV FD when there was at least 1 other medication administered via the enteral route.Results.Over the entire study period, 884,740 IV and 830,572 PO FD were administered. Overall, avoidable IV fluoroquinolone use accounted for 46.8% of all FD and 90.9% of IV FD. Excluding the first 2 days of all IV fluoroquinolone courses and limiting the analysis to the non-ICU setting yielded more conservative estimates of avoidable IV use: 20.9% of all FD and 45.9% of IV FD. Avoidable IV use was more common for levofloxacin and more frequent in the ICU setting. There was a moderate correlation between avoidable IV FD and total systemic antibiotic use (r = 0.32).Conclusions.Unnecessary IV fluoroquinolone use seems to be common in the VA system, but important variations exist between facilities. Antibiotic stewardship programs could focus on this patient safety issue as a “low-hanging fruit” to increase awareness of appropriate antibiotic use.

scholarly journals Strategies to minimize medication errors in emergency units: an integrative review

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debora Bessa Mieiro ◽  
Érica Bueno Camargo de Oliveira ◽  
Renata Elizabete Pagotti da Fonseca ◽  
Vivian Aline Mininel ◽  
Sílvia Helena Zem-Mascarenhas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medication Errors ◽  
Adverse Drug Events ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Emergency Unit ◽  
Educational Strategies ◽  
Work Process ◽  
Bar Code ◽  
Nursing Team ◽  
Emergency Units ◽  
Computerized System

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the strategies used by the Nursing team to minimize medication errors in emergency units. Method: Integrative literature review in the PubMed, BDenf, Cochrane and LILACS databases. Timeless research, without language limitation, performed by peers. Articles published in full that answered the guiding question were included in research. Results: Educational strategies (conducting campaigns, elaborating explanatory manuals, creating a multidisciplinary committee involved in the prevention and reduction of adverse drug events); organizational (meetings, Deviance positive, creation of protocols and changes in the work process) and new technologies (implementation of prescription by computerized system, introduction of the unit doses and of the bar code in the administration of medicines) were evidenced in the studies with the purpose of minimizing medication errors in an emergency unit. Conclusion: The strategies identified were effective in minimizing medication errors in emergency units.

A Retrospective and Commentary on FDA’s Bar Code Rule

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-518
Author(s):  
Aaron Kearsley ◽  
Nellie Lew ◽  
Clark Nardinelli
Keyword(s):  
Medication Errors ◽  
Drug Administration ◽  
Food And Drug Administration ◽  
Medication Administration ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Bar Code ◽  
Bar Codes ◽  
Net Benefits ◽  
Bar Code Medication Administration

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a final regulation in 2004 that requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to place linear bar codes on certain human drug and biological products. The intent was that bar codes would be part of a system where healthcare professionals would use bar code scanning equipment and software to electronically verify against a patient’s medication regimen that the correct medication is being given to the patient before it is administered, which could ultimately reduce medication errors. In the 2004 prospective regulatory impact analysis, FDA anticipated that the rule would stimulate widespread adoption of bar code medication administration technology among hospitals and other facilities, thereby generating public health benefits in the form of averted medication errors. FDA estimated that annualized net benefits would be $5.3 billion. In this retrospective analysis, we reassess the costs and benefits of the bar code rule and our original model and assumptions. Employing the most recent data available on actual adoption rates of bar code medication administration technology since 2004 and other key determinants of the costs and benefits, we examine the impacts of the bar code rule since its implementation and identify approaches to improve the accuracy of future analyses. In this retrospective study, we use alternative models of health information technology diffusion to create counterfactual scenarios against which we compare the benefits and costs of the bar code rule. The magnitudes of the costs and benefits of the 2004 rule are sensitive to assumptions about the counterfactual technology adoption rate, with the upper-bound range of calculated annualized net benefits between $2.7 billion and $6.6 billion depending on the baseline scenario considered.Disclaimer: The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors in their private capacities, and they do not represent the views of the Food and Drug Administration.

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