Good news for Minnesota residents: The state leads the nation in implementing electronic prescriptions. Fox 12 reports that Minnesota currently has the greatest volume of e-prescription usage throughout the U.S., even though this rate currently stands at 70% usage in clinics and 40% in hospitals. The system saves time, but more importantly, it saves lives.
E-prescriptions proven to reduce prescription errors
Recent studies have highlighted the fact that e–prescribing is seven times less likely to cause errors than using traditional prescription methods. E-prescriptions are electronically produced and they are expected to be safer and greatly reduce the number of prescription errors.
E-prescriptions – are there any drawbacks?
One disadvantage of an electronic system is if the whole electronic network ceases to function for even a short period of time, then the e-prescribing would have to be put on hold until the system has been restored. Also, there is always a risk of typing information incorrectly into a computer.
What causes prescription errors?
Every year in the U.S., 7,000 people die as a result of medication mistakes and around 1.5 million people are harmed by errors. When we go to a pharmacist with a prescription, we do not expect to receive the wrong drugs or the wrong dosage as we have faith in our health professionals, but these errors are still quite common.
There are several causes of prescription errors, which are:
These errors could result in administering incorrect drugs, incorrect dosages or adverse drug reactions. Any of these could lead to long-lasting harm or a devastating change to your quality of life. Widespread usage of e-prescribing can greatly reduce these errors.
If you or a family member suffered side effects after a prescription error, you should get in contact with a prescription error lawyer immediately to discuss filing a claim for compensation for injuries. If you have questions, contact our office today for a free case review at 1-877-342-2020 for a free consultation.
Nurses at Adirondack Medical Center are getting used to a new way to deliver healthcare: electronically.
The new barcode scanning technology is part of Adirondack Health’s new Bedside Medication Verification system at the Saranac Lake hospital. The program, designed to prevent nurses giving incorrect doses of medication, went on-line in all inpatient areas last September.
"We're checking every med with the patient's identification, so we aren't going to give any medications that aren't scheduled or ordered," said Kelly Burnett, an AMC registered nurse. "Less med errors, that's the primary use of it."
Under the BMV system, every patient receives a "unique identifier number" upon admission, which is a barcode printed on their wristband. All medication doses that come from the hospital pharmacy are also marked with their own individual barcodes. Barcode scanners are attached to computers on portable hospital carts, which nurses take with them on medication rounds.
Before a nurse administers medication, she scans the patient's wristband then scans the medication. The system checks the order against the physician’s instructions, which are entered into the machine electronically.
If the dose and the patient are a match, the nurse administers the medication; if there’s a problem, a warning message flashes on the screen.
In addition to reducing instances of "human error," Hospital Pharmacy Director Tom Smith also believes patients are happier because nurses now spend more time at their bedside.
"Before, the nurses really had to go back to a central medication room to get their meds," Smith said. "This whole system has helped moved the nurses closer to the bedside so they're not hiking down the hall anytime they need something."