Pros And Cons Of Electronically Charting Medications
Jimi Denae Anderson
Ms. Leigh Bancroft
English Comp
April 24, 2013
Is Electronically Charting Medications a Good Idea?
Medication errors are reaching dangerous levels in Long Term Care Facilities and technology can help to alleviate this problem. Is there a better and more effective way of charting medications for distributing medications to help the med-pass run more efficiently? The med-pass is the process of distributing medications to an individual in a long-term care facility or other medical type setting. Incorporating Bar Code Technology, which implements electronic charting is a more accurate and more thorough way to document medications given. The use of Bar Code Medication Administration Technology will decrease the amount …show more content…
These were voluntary reports, so the number of medication errors that actually occur is thought to be much higher. There is no "typical" medication error, and health professionals, patients’, and their families are all involved. Some examples are:
A physician ordered a 260-milligram preparation of Taxol for a patient, but the pharmacist accidentally prepared 260 milligrams of Taxotere instead. They are both chemotherapy drugs but are used for different types of cancer and with different recommended doses. The patient died several days later, though it could not be proven to be caused by the error because the patient was already severely ill.
Another example of improper medication use is when an older patient with rheumatoid arthritis died after receiving an overdose of methotrexate, as he was given-a 10-milligram daily dose of the drug rather than the intended 10-milligram weekly dose. Some dosing mix-ups have occurred because daily dosing of methotrexate is typically used to treat people with cancer, while low weekly doses of the drug have been prescribed for other conditions, such as arthritis, asthma, and inflammatory bowel …show more content…
Each drug in the facility is labeled with a unique bar code. When a patient is prescribed medication, it is faxed, sent electronically or hand delivered to the facility’s pharmacy and entered into a computer system by a pharmacist. The pharmacist dispenses the barcoded dose of the drug and delivers the medication to the facility. When it 's time for the clinician to administer the medication, he uses a hand-held device to scan the bar codes on his identification badge, the patient 's wristband and the drug. If the system cannot match the drug to be given with the order in the system, it alerts the clinician with a visual warning. Passing medications is a time consuming and tedious task and organization and efficiency is vital. If there is a way to improve the system it should be explored. Humans err while there is less chance of computer error so I think this system is worth looking in to. There are many advantages at first
Ms. Leigh Bancroft
English Comp
April 24, 2013
Is Electronically Charting Medications a Good Idea?
Medication errors are reaching dangerous levels in Long Term Care Facilities and technology can help to alleviate this problem. Is there a better and more effective way of charting medications for distributing medications to help the med-pass run more efficiently? The med-pass is the process of distributing medications to an individual in a long-term care facility or other medical type setting. Incorporating Bar Code Technology, which implements electronic charting is a more accurate and more thorough way to document medications given. The use of Bar Code Medication Administration Technology will decrease the amount …show more content…
These were voluntary reports, so the number of medication errors that actually occur is thought to be much higher. There is no "typical" medication error, and health professionals, patients’, and their families are all involved. Some examples are:
A physician ordered a 260-milligram preparation of Taxol for a patient, but the pharmacist accidentally prepared 260 milligrams of Taxotere instead. They are both chemotherapy drugs but are used for different types of cancer and with different recommended doses. The patient died several days later, though it could not be proven to be caused by the error because the patient was already severely ill.
Another example of improper medication use is when an older patient with rheumatoid arthritis died after receiving an overdose of methotrexate, as he was given-a 10-milligram daily dose of the drug rather than the intended 10-milligram weekly dose. Some dosing mix-ups have occurred because daily dosing of methotrexate is typically used to treat people with cancer, while low weekly doses of the drug have been prescribed for other conditions, such as arthritis, asthma, and inflammatory bowel …show more content…
Each drug in the facility is labeled with a unique bar code. When a patient is prescribed medication, it is faxed, sent electronically or hand delivered to the facility’s pharmacy and entered into a computer system by a pharmacist. The pharmacist dispenses the barcoded dose of the drug and delivers the medication to the facility. When it 's time for the clinician to administer the medication, he uses a hand-held device to scan the bar codes on his identification badge, the patient 's wristband and the drug. If the system cannot match the drug to be given with the order in the system, it alerts the clinician with a visual warning. Passing medications is a time consuming and tedious task and organization and efficiency is vital. If there is a way to improve the system it should be explored. Humans err while there is less chance of computer error so I think this system is worth looking in to. There are many advantages at first