Module 5

Obviously I am dating myself, but I used to utilize the AHRQ guidelines in print. I admit didn't get it any thought to look to their web site for information related to IT in health care. Even as I am typing I realize the how narrow minded I was in my thinking.

In the case of bar coding for medication administration, the AHRQ report helps illustrate the close relationship between accreditation requirements by Joint Commission and the need for medication administration policies in hospitals to improve patient safety. I have been told by one IT specialists, that he is working with administration on a plan to purchase the hardware/software which would allow us to begin using bar coding in the next 2 years. As a nurse amanger on a unit with nurses administering chemotherapies and other toxic therapies; I appreciate the report which identifies areas for improvement which we might not consider when setting up our hospital with bar coding. I find the report valuable in recognizing the need for nurse champions, or what I have come to know as early adoptors.

In the not so distant past, nurses documented everything on paper. If they got behind on their charting, it was not unusual to see nurses staying late after their shift to "chart". I can recall going back to chart and although the chart stated the notes were written at specific intervals, everyone knew the nurse did not put pen to paper until some 8-12 hours later. The paper form allowed all to write anything, without a way to capture falsification of the medical record. Now with the electronic record, the date and time are captured, and cannot be altered. This is true of medication delivery as well. There is no breach of ethics nor temptation of falsifying a record, when such uses of technology are in place, such as bar coding. As the AHRQ report states, when bar coding for medication adminstration, not only is the information (date, time, patient, med, route) collected, any errors are readily determined and the RN is able to remedy the error BEFORE an actual medical error occurs. Another benefit of the bar coding is there is a decreased risk of erroneously billing for medications not administered to a patient.

the more I explore the AHRQ site, I recognize what a valuable source of information is readily available via the touch of a button. I have added the site as a favorite on my computer.