Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Setting a High Bar for Meds Safety

Statistics fans, check out these numbers: Staff at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) has administered more than one million medication doses with a 97.9 medication scan rate since beginning its Barcoding at the Point of Care (BPOC) patient-safety initiative in 2007. The 99-bed community hospital in Bennington, Vt., attained a 99.4 percent patient-identification scan rate in 2010. A multidisciplinary team of SVMC?s nurses, IT specialists and pharmacists helped design and implement the electronic medication administration record system, or e-MAR. The method uses patient identification bracelets with 2-D barcodes, computer software and electronic scanners. With e-MAR technology, nurses giving medications can make several checks during the medication administration process. The goal of BPOC is to prevent medication errors and to attain the five Rs of medication administration: right patient, right drug, right dose, right route and right time. It all adds up to delivering safer, quality patient-centered care. To learn more about BPOC at SVMC, contact Eileen Druckenmiller at drue@phin.org.