Articles
Bar Codes And RFID: Preventing Medication Errors
February 4, 2008
Click Here To Download:•White Paper: Bar Codes And RFID Preventing Medication Errors
Reprinted from RFID Connections with permission from AIM Global. AIM Global, the trade association for the Automatic Identification and Mobility industry, is the source for technically accurate, unbiased, commercial-free, and up-to-date information on all AIM technologies. For additional information, please visit www.aimglobal.org.
The concept of matching a patient's a wrist band bar code (or RFID ID) to the bar code on the medication is old news. This simple procedure, if backed by suitable software and bedside mobile computers (hard wired or wireless), can ensure that four of the five "Rs" in medication are correct.
The Right Medication should be given to the Right Patient at the Right Time in the Right Dosage and via the Right Route (method).
The way bar codes could have prevented the overdoses at the hospital in Indiana goes beyond simple bedside checks. In this case, the medication was loaded into an automated drug dispensing cabinet. The hospital typically received only the lower dosage so, when the adult dosage was stocked in the cabinet, it wasn't immediately obvious. Bar code reading at receiving could have identified the problem before the medication got past the receiving dock. Or it could have been caught when it was sent up to the floor, or before it was placed in the automated medication equipment. In other words, there were multiple opportunities to prevent this particular error.
Click Here To Download:•White Paper: Bar Codes And RFID Preventing Medication Errors
