Brazosport Regional Implements Technology to
Improve Patient Safety
Brazosport Regional Health System implements a new process which will ensure patient safety during medication administration. The new process, Bedside Medication Verification (BMV), allows caregivers to utilize bar code scanning technology to match patients to their medicine and act as a safety net to check for errors prior to the patient receiving the drug.
The new technology enhances safe medication administration through the “Five Rights” of medication management: Right Patient, Right Medication, Right Dosage, Right Route, and Right Time. To provide positive patient identification, hospital wristbands now include a barcode. Caregivers will scan the barcode on the medication to be administered and then scan the barcode on the patient’s wristband to correctly identify that the Right Medication and Dosage is being given to the Right Patient at the Right Time, by the Right Route.
“Less than 20% of hospitals nation-wide are using this technology,” states Candice Fonke, RN, MBA, Chief Nursing Officer at Brazosport Regional. “This initiative demonstrates our commitment to ensuring our patients receive the best possible care and the most advanced technology.”
BMV allows caregivers to utilize bar code scanning technology prior to administering medications, to confirm patient identity and medication information against data readily available via MEDITECH’s online Medication Administration Record. This process increases accuracy and efficiency when administering medications, providing physicians faster and easier access to critical information to manage patient care.
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