Dispensing Prescription Drugs
by
Randy Mears
Reading recent news stories about high rates of prescription drug errors causing injuries to large numbers of American citizens, I can’t help but think of all the great things that modern IT technologies could do to seriously reduce those numbers.
During my last hospital stay (about a year ago), I was fascinated by the amount of technology that was dedicated to ensuring I was able to be easily and accurately identified (bar-coded wrist band) and how the process for dispensing my medication was neatly tied to a wristband identification process (bar-coded medicine tray). I couldn’t help but wonder: If such systems were in place in all hospitals would we have this problem?
Upon further examination I learned that the identification process must be applied to more than just the dispensing of prescriptions. Accurate identification must be carried through the entire decision making process. Lab tests must be accurately attributed to the correct patient and medical chart. Physicians and nurses need to verify the chart they are viewing matches the patient they are examining. Medical systems need to ensure potential drug interactions are red flagged and proper sign-off is obtained before dispensing these exceptions. It appears to be a systemic problem waiting for a good integrated solution.
The big question for me isn’t whether we can build the systems to solve this problem. We may already have them. It is more about whether we can get medical professionals and institutions to invest the time, money and absolute commitment required to make them work. Our lives may depend on it.
