Technology has come a long way, especially when it comes to administering medications. I have been to several different facilities and have had first hand experience of "giving meds" using different systems. Unfortunately, some hospitals still have not caught up with the times and still use charts and paperwork to administer medications. In my hospital everything is accounted for & is stored in what we call the Pyxis Med Station. This med station is an automated dispensing station that records every medication pulled and includes a scanning system that aides in reducing medication errors.
This technology is very helpful, though I want to know how is it with medication errors, when I was in school we had seen this system before, though we still looked at a medex cart as a check for the doctors orders.
ReplyDeleteThe ultimate benefit of barcodes is patient safety. The barcode system can prevent medication errors by confirming that the patient and medication orders match, and that medication is being given at the scheduled time. If the medication does not match the patient’s electronic profile, the scanner notifies the nurse, preventing potential errors.
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