The Use of Electronic Medication with a Barcode

Introduction

Healthcare providers who implement barcode management systems reduce the risk of medication errors by automating the tracking and distribution of prescriptions. Because it ensures that patients receive the correct medication in a timely manner and that it is verified electronically, this program is critical in health care. Healthcare practitioners can use barcode information to compare medications given to patients when employing this technology in a hospital or other healthcare facility. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) receives more than 100,000 reports each year about possible drug mistakes. An error can occur at any point in the course of treatment. For example, while entering data into a computer program, defining a drug, or extracting or changing a medicine (Thompson et al., 2018). The determining or ordering phase is where most mistakes are made. Drug management can be improved by securing five rights with this technique. This is the proper time, medication, dosage, route, and patient. Each patient’s barcode contains all of the relevant information about the patient and the drug they are now taking. Choosing this technical article because it can help prevent some medical blunders that have a negative impact on both the patient and the healthcare industry. The physical injury and even death of a patient can be caused by medical misconduct. Medication errors can also have a negative impact on the patient’s mental and financial well-being.

The first step in the study process was to select and develop the issue, which is the usage of electronic medicine with a barcode. To further my understanding of the subject, I then searched for relevant terms online. Among the search terms I’ve used are barcodes in nursing, electronic devices, barcodes, and medication errors. I was able to locate a number of publications on the use of barcodes in electronic medicine administration to raise the bar for nursing care’s safety and quality requirements. Google Scholar, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PubMed were some of the resources I consulted during my research.

Annotation Bibliography

Thompson, K. M., Swanson, K. M., Cox, D. L., Kirchner, R. B., Russell, J. J., Wermers, R. A., & Naessens, J. M. (2018). Implementation of barcode medication administration to reduce patient harm. Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes, 2(4), 342- 351.

The authors of this study were interested in determining the effect of barcode control technology on medication management errors in the inpatient sector. For example, according to Thompson et al. (2018), preventable drug events and medication errors represent significant risks to inpatients. The researchers surveyed all of the nurse’s facilities at a large hospital classified as Magnet. Fifty inpatient nursing facilities have implemented this technique. The usage of a voluntary reporting mechanism was employed to increase data compliance. The adoption of these technologies, says this source, can help to improve the quality of care and the safety of the patients.

The introduction of BCMA technology has resulted in a reduction of 43.5% in medication management errors. The risk of adverse medication reactions has decreased from 0.65 to 100,000 to 0.29 to 100,000 (Thompson et al., 2019). The incidence of patient injuries is thereby reduced by 55.4% as a result of this. According to a reliable source, an increase in the accuracy of bedside drug administration is attributed to using these technologies by nurses and members of the multidisciplinary health care team. As a result of the information and data presented in this book, healthcare practitioners will be better equipped to ensure patient safety and quality of care by eliminating pharmaceutical errors that often have negative effects on the patient.

Khammarnia, M., Kassani, A., & Eslahi, M. (2015). The efficacy of patients’ wristband bar-code on prevention of medical errors. Applied clinical informatics, 6(04), 716-727. 

According to Khammarnia, Kassani, and Eslahi (2015), medical errors that can be avoided are the primary cause of injuries globally. In an attempt to determine whether or not wristband barcode scanning pharmaceuticals reduces medication mistakes, researchers have done meta-analyses. If a doctor does not know a patient’s identity, they may perform an incorrect diagnostic or therapeutic technique, which may result in a negative health consequences. Khammarnia, Kassani & Eslahi (2015) state that technology can help shorten the length of a patient’s hospital stay as well as the likelihood of prescription errors.

Aside from patient safety and identification, the technology significantly impacts the lab environment. As it has reduced the frequency of rejected blood samples, the technology has helped to improve patient safety and quality of care. Sources say the technology is closely tied to the nursing profession and the work of various agencies’ healthcare teams since it can assist in cutting the amount of time nurses spend working on drug-related activities by roughly 25% (Khammarnia, Kassani, & Eslahi, 2015). As a result, nurse fatigue is reduced and patients are better served by the healthcare team (Khammarnia, Kassani, & Eslahi, 2015). Patient safety is a serious issue around the world because of medication mishaps. For healthcare organizations, it’s critical to address their prevalence and to identify the reasons and contributing factors.

Oldland, A. R., Golightly, L. K., May, S. K., Barber, G. R., & Stolpman, N. M. (2015). Electronic inventory systems and barcode technology: impact on pharmacy technical accuracy and error liability. Hospital pharmacy, 50(1), 034-041. 

This research intends to measure the consequences of successively implementing electronic drug storage systems and barcode technology. Drug delivery errors can be reduced by the use of electronic inventory management (BC) systems, according to research data Reduced distribution errors can be achieved by using barcode technology (Oldland et al., 2015). This resource is critical for health professionals to study since the introduction of electronic innovation systems that incorporate ADC and BC technology often offers consistent outcomes that increase pharmacy technology accuracy. Using systems on a regular basis and training healthcare providers to use them effectively reduces the likelihood of distribution problems.

The outcomes of the adoption of electronic pharmaceutical storage and inventory systems and product assurance devices in the educational, medical facility should be evaluated for the accuracy of pharmacy technology and the degree of probable drug delivery error. Clinical pharmacy is a branch of medicine that focuses on discovering and developing new drugs to treat and prevent disease. There is a considerable emphasis on patient safety and reducing pharmacological hazards in this professional definition. In the case of avoidable adverse medication responses, withdrawal errors are infrequent but significant. Improving patient safety necessitates reducing distribution errors. Hospital-focused pharmaceutical use unit or dose unit (UD) for drug distribution is one of the initial steps in a patient’s safety program.

Alotaibi, Y. K., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi medical journal, 38(12), 1173. 

According to Alotaibi & Federico (2017), patient safety includes preventing and minimizing any damage or ill effects that may occur throughout the care process. The purpose of this study is to gather evidence of the influence of various health technologies on patient safety. Patients’ safety and quality of treatment can be improved by using bar code medication management, according to this study’s findings. It is possible for some tools to alert your healthcare provider if comparable or noise-like medications could be mistaken. When specific medications are scanned, technology can provide clinical guidance, which can help nurses and a multiracial healthcare team do their jobs better. As a result, it can aid in the documentation of clinical information. Health practitioners need to learn about resources in order to better grasp how various technologies affect their performance. Automated drug distribution and telemedicine are examples of barcode drug management, as well as electronic exit and manual extraction technologies.

Conclusion

Evidence from four research shows that reducing medication errors through the use of electronic barcode medicine can assist in enhancing patient safety and quality of care. The availability of resources, such as financial procurement processes, is one element that could influence the deployment of technology in health care. Additionally, healthcare providers must have the requisite skills, personnel, and commitment through training programs. Healthcare providers’ readiness to accept new technologies can be gauged in this way. Health information technology has the ability to make a variety of significant adjustments and advances in the healthcare industry. Simplifying care delivery, boosting clinical outcomes, minimizing human error, collecting data across time, and enhancing care efficiency are just a few of the goals we’ve set for ourselves. It also improves patient outcomes.