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Poll shows nurses believe medication safety is improving

HCPro's Weekly Update on the ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®*, March 11, 2008

Seventy-two percent of RNs in a recent poll believed their hospital has made significant improvements in medication survey in the last five years. The national research study was conducted by Harris Interactive, a marketing research company, and also revealed that 80% of the RNs thought technology had been a leading factor in medication safety improvement.
 
One hospital that has recently focused on medication safety is University Health Systems (UHS) in Augusta, GA, an ANCC Magnet Recognition Program® recipient in 2005, which has improved medication safety by implementing automated medication cabinets and electronic health records (EHR). The medication cabinets feature a built-in screen where nurses can access patient EHRs, along with pharmacy information. When nursing staff go to the medication cabinet to retrieve a medication, they open the patient's chart on a touch screen located on the cabinet, then select the medication to be administered. A drawer in the medication cabinet opens automatically, containing the correct medication and dose for the patient.

UHS is also looking to improve patient safety by implementing bar-code scanning of medications. According to Harris Interactive, scanning bar codes on patient wristbands gives nurses the ability to meet the "five rights" of medication safety: right patient, right drug, right dose, right time, and right route.

Source: Fox Central Oregon. To read the article click here.

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