Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Closing the Loop

When Olean (NY) General Hospital decided to improve medication management by using technology, it wanted to be sure to incorporate the most efficient technology to reduce medication errors and improve patient care. It all starts with bar coding. Olean purchases its medication in bulk and bar codes each dose. This saved 30 percent on the acquisition cost. Next, a robot picks a 24-hour supply of drugs for each patient and loads them into a cardboard envelope with a bar code on it. A pharm tech transfers the envelopes to the smart cards on each floor. When the tech scans the bar code on the envelope, the drawer assigned to that patient opens. Each drug is then scanned and placed in the drawer. This is repeated until all the drawers are filled. The nurse administering the medication wheels the cart into the patient?s room and scans the bar code on the patient?s wristband. This brings up an electronic medication administration record on the computer screen and simultaneously opens the patient?s assigned drawer. When the correct drugs are scanned, the record produces a green check. Steps in the process are double-checked to improve safety and pharmacists and nurses have more time to spend with patients. For further information, contact Tim Finan, CEO, efarrell@wnyha.com.