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Ponder these points before using barcodes

Nurse Leader Weekly, July 3, 2003

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St. Marys Hospital Medical Center in Madison, WI, had been trying to reduce its medication error rate for years, but nothing it tried seemed to make much difference. More than 60% of the hospital's medication errors occurred at the point of administration.

"We knew if [we] influenced the administration phase we could definitely impact our medication error rate," says Wendy Wittwer, RN, BSN, coordinator of the hospital's barcoding initiative.

Installing a barcoding system looked like the natural next step, so in 1999, St. Marys signed on to test and implement Bridge Medical's nascent "MedPoint" software. By the fall of 2000, the hospital's pilot units were up and running. Benefits have been well worth the effort. Within six months of implementing the software on the first nursing unit, medication errors had decreased by 59%, says Wittwer.

However, as with any new technology or system, implementation was-and still is-a challenge. Thinking about implementing a barcoding system at your hospital in the future? Consider some of the other lessons staff learned:

• Involve the IS department Hospitals that want to implement a barcoding system should bring the information systems (IS) department on board from day one. Even if you're just beginning to investigate software, IS staff members need to know what role their department will play. They can also offer valuable advice.
• Allocate training time Training is no small task. Wittwer and another nurse must train not only nurses, but also respiratory therapists, student nurse instructors, float pool staff, housekeepers, and some pharmacists and IS staff. Students (about nine at a time) review a study guide for about an hour, and then attend a three-and-a-half-hour training class.
• Expect some staff reluctance Many nurses at St. Marys looked forward to the barcoding system, but others were skittish about using the new technology. Although scanning every medication does add an extra step to the caregiving process, nurses save time in other areas. For instance, the system automatically produces documentation when nurses confirm that they have administered a medication.

Adapted from: Briefings on Patient Safety, www.hcmarketplace.com/Prod.cfm?id=234&S=ENMW.

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