medications
after they
were adminis-
tered. Point-of-
use documen-
tation technol-
ogy requires
providers to
scan medica-
tions before
administration
so such safe-
guards as allergy alerts and dosing calculators are fully used.
Barcode-assisted documentation systems can also prevent monitor-
ing oversights or failing to act when the patient's condition changes.
For instance, systems can remind providers to re-dose antibiotics or
check the patient's blood pressure when 10 minutes have elapsed
since the last reading.
3. Eliminate workarounds. Consider medication administration
improvements in the OR that provide additional layers of verification
and minimize opportunities for providers to circumvent safety checks
and processes. For example, they'll continue to use paper labels if
they're stored right next to barcode-assisted labeling technology, says
Dr. Nanji.
"In general, you want to make the safety solution the easiest course
of action," says Dr. Nanji. "The safeguard should not disrupt workflow
and make patient care more difficult for providers. If it does, staff will
continue to use the easiest possible method to administer medica-
tions, even though it might not be the safest."
O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 8 1
• UNIQUE LOOK Custom medication labels differentiate drawn-up syringes that are placed on the sterile field.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
