Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center is proud to be one of the first hospitals to implement bar-coding technology to lessen the possibility of patient injury due to a medication error. The Institute of Medicine Report released in December 1999 alerted the public, regulatory bodies and the healthcare industry by suggesting that medication errors can account for a number of medical errors.
Bar coding is the same technology that is used in supermarkets and check-out lines to insure that the cashier charges the correct amount for every item. Bar codes are applied to every individual dose of medication given to each patient. In addition, each patient has a bar-code on their identification bracelet that uniquely identifies them to the electronic clinical information system.
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Medication Safety Medication Bar-Code System
The medication order appears on a laptop computer nurses use when making rounds. With a hand-held scanner, the nurse matches the bar code on the medication and on the patient's bracelet with the information in the electronic medical record. Through a wireless computer system, the computer links to the main hospital clinical system to confirm that the right dose is being given to the right patient at the right time. Pharmacy Robot IntelliFill i.v. uses robotic technology to safely manage the preparation and distribution of small-volume IV medications. Designed and built for exceptional accuracy, efficiency and reliability, IntelliFill i.v. enhances patient safety while at the same time reducing hospital costs. It delivers an accurate dose for the right patient each and every time.
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