Patient Safety Update
Nurse Feedback Drives eMAR Enhancements
The eMAR business owners group, comprised of Pharmacy, Nursing and Information System staff, continues to improve eMAR based on users’ feedback and has made several key improvements recently, including installing new scanners and piloting improved eMAR carts.
New scanners—expected to be deployed to all pods by the end of July—feature software that improves the ability for the device to read bar codes; a cover that protects the device if it’s dropped; and prevents the scanner from sliding off the laptop or cart.
Nurses on several pods over the past few months trialed a new eMAR cart. The eMAR business owners group is collecting feedback as it plans the future purchase of carts. Options for changes include a work surface that also protects the laptop, a new keyboard and a wheel device that prevents the cart from rolling on the pods.
In addition, several enhancements have been made to the eMAR application, including:
• Streamlining information displayed in the application to improve the workflow and efficiency of the nurse.
• Improving access to information on the various screens in the application to facilitate scheduling of medications for nursing and pharmacy.
Some of the future software enhancements to be released some time this summer will change the scheduling for scanning IV products to every eight hours and when a bag is changed, as well as cueing the nurse when an IV infusion is due to be discontinued.
The eMAR business owners group also is addressing the improvement of the bar codes on premix IV bags. A new version of the pressure infuser bags is being designed with a clear front to allow scanning a product through the bag.
In addition, a printer problem occurring in the last few months has been resolved. Many nurses were unable to scan the data matrix bar codes on some drugs that were repackaged by the BWH Pharmacy because the quality of the data matrix bar code was adversely affected by problems with the printer ribbons.
To share your feedback with the eMAR business owners group, use the electronic feedback option in the eMAR application.
New scanners are expected to be installed in all pods using eMAR by the end of the month, but check out these tips for difficult-to-scan barcodes.
Tilt the barcode slightly away from the light while scanning.
Hold the product and the device still while scanning.
Hold the scanner farther away (8-10 inches) from larger barcodes and closer (2-3 inches) for the small data matrix bar codes.