A Barcode on Life and Money

On my last blog I talked about how difficult it was to get through my eight hour shift because I did not have the proper equipment to get my job done. Our computers on wheels (COWs) were no longer keeping a charge and kept turning off or locking all its drawers in leaving us without access to them. Come to find out the life expectancy of these computer units is only 3 years. The computers are exactly three years old. They do show much wear and tear yet our hospital is still attempting to get the computers serviced. It will cost a substantial amount to replace them all but they have also shown to help keep costs down. It is actually well worth the investment for these COW's because they help the user keep a more efficient pace when administering medications. This cuts down on time because the nurse keeps all patient medications in the COW drawers and can go room to room passing their meds. These computer systems have also shown to decrease medication errors because the bar coding system that is in place. Bar coding the patient ensures that they are properly identified and bar coding their medications ensures that they are receiving the correct medications and dosages at the appropriate times. According to an article I came across regarding barcode medication administration : “Medication errors are a serious public health threat. According to a landmark 1999 Institute of Medicine report, between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die annually due to medical mistakes.1 As part of its ongoing efforts to improve patient safety, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled on April 4, 2004, to make barcodes mandatory on the labels of thousands of human medications and biological products by the year 2006.2 The FDA has predicted that the ruling will prevent nearly 500,000 adverse events and transfusion errors over the 20 years that follow, at a cost savings of $93 billion”. Not only will the hospital save money in the long run, they will also continue to improve patient safety which should be the number one goal.

Works Cited

Wideman, Mary V., Michael E. Whittler, and Timothy M. Anderson. "Barcode
Medication Administration: Lessons Learned from an Intensive Care Unit
Implementation." Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. U.S. Department of
Health and Human, 03 May 2005. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. .

Technology and Efficiency

This week I was reminded yet again on how much we rely on technology to accomplish everyday tasks. For me it came in the form of lacking the tools to get my job done in a timely manner. Our floor holds 23 single beds which may not sound at all like a significant number but you must consider the types of patients that our floor cares for. Orthopedic patients can be a handful because of all the equipment they need, the constant pain control, and maximum mobility assistance that is required. This week our floor was completely full, as soon as we discharged a patient there were others on a waiting list ready to replace them. I am sure the rest of my coworkers will agree that anything to help us get through the day in a timely manner is really appreciated, especially during a time when we are so busy. Our equipment is old and is need of desperate replacement or repair. We use what we call COW’s (computers on wheels) to pass out our medications. With the COW’s we are able to carry large amounts of medications in drawers, scan our patients to correctly identify them, and scan in their medications. This portable computer also can be taken to a patient’s room for the admission process. This type of equipment really makes medication administration faster and safer and cuts down on the time it takes to admit a patient. This week we had two that were working with six nurses all needing a COW. We were having to wait and take turns passing out our medications which really prolonged the process. At the end of the shift we were all behind having to stay longer than our intended eight hour shift. Besides making us late we all stayed over about 1-2 hours longer. This meant not only were we being affected but also the hospital as a whole. They had to pay for more hours because the equipment provided was not working. Patients also complained on how long it was taking for them to receive their medications. Overall, not having the right equipment to get the task done affected all aspects of my work. It affected my coworkers, the patients, cost to the hospital, and myself.