Quality & Patient Safety

Patient safety Q&A

Patient Safety Monitor, August 1, 2010

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Q. We are in the process of moving to an electronic system. How have other hospitals managed co-signatures on high-risk medications when nurses are scanning meds and patient IDs at the bedside? We would like to make it as easy as possible for the nurses.

A. Bar coding and scanning for medication administration has added a layer of security to administering medications and has hopefully helped reduce medication errors. But moving from a paper to an electronic system has changed how medication administration occurs. Many hospitals require two nurses to check the dosage on high-risk medications such as chemotherapy and insulin.

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Patient Safety Monitor.

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