Patient Safety Focus:

eMAR, Barcoding and Patient Safety

In November, Brigham and Women’s Hospital began the final step in our move to an Electronic Medication Administra-tion System: bringing the electronic medication administration record (eMAR) and point-of-care bar-coding system online.

eMAR is now online on Connors Center 8, 9 and 10, with other units planned to go online after BICS Modern-ization is complete in the spring. This continues a BWH tradition of being at the forefront in patient safety technology.

Much like the implementation of Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) at BWH in 1993, eMAR shows great promise for decreasing medication errors. Prior to BWH CPOE, one of the most common medication error types was prescribing errors. After the implementation of CPOE in 1993, serious medication errors dropped by 55 percent, and prescribing errors became one of the least common reported errors.

A similar drop in transcription and administration-related medication errors is expected after eMAR and barcoding implementation has been completed throughout the hospital. A study performed at a Colorado hospital showed a 71 percent reduction in medication errors over a two-year period after implementation of point-of-care bar-coding.

The eMAR eliminates the step of hand-written transcription of medication orders. In the past six months, 21 percent of medication safety reports filed have involved transcription. With this step eliminated, these transcription errors will disappear. In addition, bar-coding ensures that the right drug, right dose, right time, and right patient have been chosen before a medication is given. This additional precaution will reduce the number of medication errors that occur during administration – errors that currently make up 47 percent of reported medication events. BWH will be one of the first hospitals to have a medication system that includes CPOE, bar-coding and eMAR technologies.

For more information, contact Dr. Tejal Gandhi, Judy Hayes or Bill Churchill.