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Search results for "United States of America"

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Journal Article > Review

The effects of bar-coding technology on medication errors: a systematic literature review.

Hutton K, Ding Q, Wellman G. J Patient Saf. 2017 Feb 24; [Epub ahead of print].

This systematic review of barcoding medication administration demonstrates consistent reductions in medication errors across all included studies following the introduction of barcoding. The authors advocate for continued uptake of this health information technology strategy to enhance safety.

Journal Article > Review

Medication safety in the operating room: literature and expert-based recommendations.

Wahr JA, Abernathy JH III, Lazarra EH, et al. Br J Anaesth. 2017;118:32-43.

This Delphi study examined 138 recommendations, generated from a review of 74 studies, regarding medication safety in the operating room. Using a consensus process, investigators determined 35 practices that can be implemented in the operative setting, including medication reconciliation and barcoding.

Journal Article > Study

The role of radio frequency detection system embedded surgical sponges in preventing retained surgical sponges: a prospective evaluation in patients undergoing emergency surgery.

Inaba K, Okoye O, Aksoy H, et al. Ann Surg. 2016;264:599-604.

Retained surgical items are considered a preventable patient safety problem. In this implementation study, investigators used sponges embedded with radio frequency detection (RFD) in emergency surgeries. The RFD system identified sponges that would not have been detected, either because the sponge and instrument count was incorrect or because the count was not performed. These results argue for expanding the use of RFD sponges for emergency surgery.

Journal Article > Study

Effect of the implementation of barcode technology and an electronic medication administration record on adverse drug events.

Truitt E, Thompson R, Blazey-Martin D, NiSai D, Salem D. Hosp Pharm. 2016;51:474-483.

Barcode medication administration has been shown to improve medication safety. This pre–post study analyzed voluntary error reports at a single academic medical center and found that adverse drug events decreased after barcode medication administration was implemented, as seen in prior studies.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

Do not let "Depo-" medications be a depot for mistakes.

ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute Care Edition. March 24, 2016;21:1-4.

Confusion due to look-alike and sound-alike medications are known to contribute to medication errors. Describing errors associated with a certain medication naming convention, this newsletter article offers recommendations to reduce risks related to these drugs, including labeling clarifications, storing medications separately, barcode scanning, and staff education.

Journal Article > Study

Comparison of barcode scanning by pharmacy technicians and pharmacists' visual checks for final product verification.

Wang BN, Brummond P, Stevenson JG. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2016;73:69-75.

In this study at a satellite pharmacy of a large academic hospital, barcode scanning by technicians was better at detecting dispensing errors than visual checking by pharmacists. This supports prior research showing that barcode scanning decreases dispensing errors and adverse drug events in the hospital.

Journal Article > Commentary

Creating a culture of safety around bar-code medication administration: an evidence-based evaluation framework.

Kelly K, Harrington L, Matos P, Turner B, Johnson C. J Nurs Adm. 2016;46:30-37.

Successful barcode medication administration implementation can reduce unintended consequences and workarounds related to poor system design. This commentary discusses an evaluation process that engages hospital leaders and frontline nurses in reviewing evidence, assessing practice, improving performance, and modifying processes to enhance the safety of barcoded medication use.

Journal Article > Study

Comparison of medication safety systems in critical access hospitals: combined analysis of two studies.

Cochran GL, Barrett RS, Horn SD. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2016;73:1167-1173.

Medication errors are a well-recognized source of preventable patient harm and result from mistakes made during medication prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, and administration processes. This study looked at the impact of several factors on reducing medication errors in critical access hospitals. Investigators found that dispensing by an onsite pharmacist and the use of barcode technology for administration were both associated with a statistically significant reduction in medication errors.

Journal Article > Commentary

Preparing challenging medications for barcode scanning.

Waxlax TJ. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2015;72:1089-1090.

Barcode scanning can reduce medication administration errors, but certain packaging and dosage formulations require special attention to ensure the process improves safety. This commentary draws from examples such as preparation of insulin and use of ampules to illustrate situations in which scanning errors may occur and recommends strategies to address them.

Journal Article > Review

A safe practice standard for barcode technology.

Leung AA, Denham CR, Gandhi TK, et al. J Patient Saf. 2015;11:89-99.

Barcode technology has been advocated as a strategy to reduce medication errors. This narrative review explored barcoding solutions applied in various care settings and found that they resulted in notable reductions of transcription, dispensing, and administration errors. The authors recommend standards for successful implementation of barcode technology systems.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

A crack in our best armor: "wrong patient" injections from insulin pens alarmingly frequent even with barcode scanning.

ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute Care Edition. October 23, 2014;19:1-5.

Improper insulin pen use is a persistent problem. This newsletter article reveals the lessons learned from one hospital that implemented best practices including robust education, bar-code scanning, bedside electronic medication administration records, and alerts to prevent incorrect administration but continued to experience errors related to insulin pen use.

Journal Article > Commentary

How informatics nurses use bar code technology to reduce medication errors.

Gann M. Nursing. 2015;45:60-66.

Examining the literature around a set of competencies for nurses as users of health information technology in medication delivery, this commentary highlights the role of a nurse as barcode medication administration coordinator to help provide training in the use of necessary hardware and software, reduce workarounds that can hinder the effectiveness of health information technology, and address other problems and unintended consequences related to technologic innovations.

Journal Article > Study

Using Lean "automation with a human touch" to improve medication safety: a step closer to the "perfect dose."

Ching JM, Williams BL, Idemoto LM, Blackmore CC. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2014;40:341-350.

This study highlights the use of Lean methodologies to facilitate implementation of barcode medication administration (BCMA) for hospitalized patients at Virginia Mason Medical Center. The introduction of BCMA led to significantly fewer medication errors. The concepts presented may be helpful for organizations employing new health technologies.

Journal Article > Study

Pediatric medication administration errors and workflow following implementation of a bar code medication administration system.

Hardmeier A, Tsourounis C, Moore M, Abbott WE, Guglielmo BJ. J Healthc Qual. 2014;36:54-63.

After implementation of a barcode medication administration system at a children's hospital, adherence to institutional medication safety protocols was high and the incidence of medication administration errors appeared to be low based on direct observation.

Journal Article > Study

Comparison of medication safety effectiveness among nine critical access hospitals.

Cochran GL, Haynatzki G. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2013;70:2218-2224.

Approaches to reducing medication errors have not been uniformly implemented in rural hospitals. This study used direct observation to monitor medication safety in nine small rural hospitals. The authors evaluated the benefits of onsite pharmacy support and bedside bar coding in preventing medication errors. Hospitals with more than 40 hours per week of onsite pharmacy staffing and bedside bar-coding technology had fewer errors than hospitals that had less pharmacist time and no bedside medication bar coding. The most common error types were omission and wrong dose. These findings suggest that increased pharmacy support and bar coding should be implemented in rural acute care settings.

Journal Article > Review

Barcode medication administration work-arounds: a systematic review and implications for nurse executives.

Voshall B, Piscotty R, Lawrence J, Targosz M. J Nurs Adm. 2013;43:530-535.

This literature review identifies workarounds associated with implementation of barcode medication administration and recommends strategies to address them.

Journal Article > Study

Effect of barcode-assisted medication administration on emergency department medication errors.

Bonkowski J, Carnes C, Melucci J, et al. Acad Emerg Med. 2013;20:801-806.

Implementation of barcode-assisted medication administration was associated with an 80% reduction in medication administration errors in an urban emergency department.

Journal Article > Study

Improving medication administration safety in solid organ transplant patients through barcode-assisted medication administration.

Bonkowski J, Weber RJ, Melucci J, Pesavento T, Henry M, Moffatt-Bruce S. Am J Med Qual. 2014;29:236-241.

Organ transplant patients are at high risk for medication errors given their complex drug regimens. In this study, implementation of barcode-assisted medication administration was associated with reduced risk of medication errors in solid organ transplant patients.

Newspaper/Magazine Article

What surgeons leave behind costs some patients dearly.

Eisler P. USA Today. March 8, 2013.

This newspaper article describes two incidents of retained surgical items and discusses the technological solutions to prevent them.

Journal Article > Study

Bar-code verification: reducing but not eliminating medication errors.

Henneman PL, Marquard JL, Fisher DL, et al. J Nurs Adm. 2012;42:562-566.

This simulation study identified several mechanisms by which medication errors could occur even when a bar-code medication administration system was used. These included patient identification errors and failure to heed computerized warnings.

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