Preventing Medication Errors With Technology

When people get prescriptions for medications, they assume the products they’re taking are correct and should help them feel better.

However, statistics indicate medication errors happen during 3.8 million hospital admissions and 3.3 million outpatient visits every year in the U.S. Plus, an estimated 7,000 of those incidences result in fatalities.

Fortunately, technology reduces those issues in a variety of ways.

Apps to Make Patients More Informed and Empowered

A healthcare provider’s role doesn’t end when they provide a patient with medication. It’s essential to give the individual details about taking the medication correctly, whether other substances could trigger interactions and the most likely side effects.

However, even with the best intentions, health experts may be rushed when providing the information. It’s also likely patients won’t retain it, especially if they’re in pain or groggy from prescribed medication.

An app built by a company in the United Kingdom aims to make medication specifics less confusing by condensing the essential information into about 250 words of plain English.

The developers believe their invention will save money for the region’s health system by reducing hospital readmissions caused by unintentional patient-based non-adherence to medication guidelines.

Another study involved an app for HIV patients developed by researchers at the University of Virginia. A small app trial asked participants to go through daily check-ins that included medication adherence reminders and encouragement to book or keep appointments as recommended by practitioners.

At the start of the investigation, 47 percent of people diagnosed with HIV within three months of the beginning of the study achieved virus suppression. However, 87 percent of patients suppressed the virus after using the app for six months.

A particularly useful element of the app is a messaging feature that allows providers and patients to talk to each other via a text-based system instead of picking up the phone. It could urge patients to report if their medications cause any unexpected side effects.

Plus, practitioners could give reinforcement about dosages and timing through the app to reduce mistakes.

There’s also a company called CareThrough that developed a LiveLink chatbot to send hospital discharge instructions to peoples’ phones. Then, they can quickly access them to review specifics about taking medications.

Such information should also go to anyone sharing responsibility for an individual’s care, such as a home health nurse or a relative.

Health professionals should not assume patients know such technology exists. Instead, they must raise awareness about it while counseling patients on how to take their medication as directed.

Computers and Barcode Systems Ensure Proper Procedures

Mistakes often happen when providers fail to follow one or more of what are known as the five rights of medication administration:

1. Verifying the dosage

2. Timing

3. Patient

4. Particular medication

5. Delivery route

Many health systems use digital platforms and barcode scanning systems when checking each of those areas for correctness.

For example, a nurse might scan a person’s hospital wristband to check identification, as well as target a barcode on the medication container, then check the scanned information against what appears in a computer interface.

Some point-of-care technological solutions offer authentication and biometric capabilities. They also reduce paperwork and handwritten elements of prescriptions, both of which could make the probability of errors rise.

Studies show that computerized setups can reduce medication errors by as much as 85 percent. It’s particularly helpful if they give on-screen alerts when an individual administering medicine forgets to follow a step.

One investigation of 54 studies about medication-administration errors found that the most common causes were slips and lapses.

Those findings came out in 2013, but they’re still relevant today. Healthcare providers frequently work long hours and multi-task during their shifts. Both those characteristics could lead to forgetfulness or hastiness, among other issues that computerized, scan-based systems could reduce.

Error Reporting Is Essential

Healthcare information technology is supposed to prevent problems, but even the most advanced system isn’t perfect.

A study about the state of Pennsylvania found that the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority received 889 medication error reports during the first half of 2016 that were attributed to errors where healthcare technology was a contributing factor.

Combatting those issues requires an all-encompassing approach that includes measures to ensure staff members receive thorough training and have the resources to report errors or near-miss incidents to superiors.

In one study at a 188-bed hospital, a clinical pharmacist oversaw all medication-related activities per ward and determined at which stage the mistakes most often occurred.

The findings were then passed onto a committee that took action by implementing corrective measures. That approach made medication mistakes decrease from 6.7 percent to 3.6 percent.

When evaluating any healthcare technology platform associated with medication administration, hospital representatives must carefully assess the product to determine the likelihood that it might not be user-friendly enough, that staff members won’t understand how to report errors or could document them incorrectly.

Technology Alone Cannot Stop Errors From Happening

Although technology is undeniably useful in making medication mistakes less prevalent, it’s not the only element in preventing complications.

Instead, health facilities must identify medication administration shortcomings and work to remedy them, and patients should get instructions on how to immediately report adverse reactions if they happen.

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