Pediatric labels for bar code medication administration (BCMA)

One of the questions marks surrounding BCMA, known as MAK in Siemens language, is how to label pediatric oral syringes. Unlike most adult unit-dosed medications, pediatric dosages come in a variety of sizes. Where an adult patient may receive 25mg of captopril, a pediatric patient may receive a range of doses based on weight (0.15-0.3 mg/kg/dose for infants). The captopril tablet used by adults is barcode ready from the manufacturer. The pediatric dose, on the other hand, is not. For pediatric patients we compound a 0.75mg/mL oral suspension and pull the doses into oral syringes based on the provider’s order. Captopril is only one example as we do the same for hydralazine, spironolactone, propranolol, sildenafil, etc.

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Is bar code scanning really safer for pharmacy?

This is a great questions and one that I previously would have said is a no-brainer. I believe a bar coding system for medication dispensing from the pharmacy is an improvement in patient safety, but I would be hard pressed to prove it. A colleague of mine (John Poikonen at RxInformatics.com) is fond of saying that there is no evidence to support the use of bar coding. Here’s a quote from John: “The pharmacy profession is drunk with the notion that BCMA works for patient safety, in the face of little to no evidence.“ He has a point.

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A little assistance for choosing the right barcode reader

barcode.com: “With all of the data capture solutions on the market today, choosing a barcode scanner may seem overwhelming. However, after analyzing all of your needs, making the right choice should come easily. It’s important to analyze both the requirements of your business and what your budget allows. First and foremost, ask yourself, “what barcode … Read more

A failure modes and effects analysis on bar code medication administration

Over the past several months I’ve been involved with a committee tasked with performing a failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) on our bedside scanning initiative. An FMEA is a procedure for analyzing potential failure modes within a system and classifying those potential failures by frequency and severity. The failure modes can be actual or potential. It’s a way to plan for holes in the system before they actually develop, and can be quite useful in creating possible solutions for future problems. Being proactive is always easier than being reactive, I think.

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RFID vs. barcode

Barcode.com: “RFID, or radio frequency technology, uses a tag applied to a product in order to identify and track it via radio waves. The 2 parts that make up the tag are an integrated circuit and an antenna. While the circuit processes and stores information, the antenna transmits signals to the RFID reader, also called … Read more

Barcodes on patient wristbands.

Barcode.com: “Often times, information that Hospital administrators would like to include in the barcode is far too much in relation to the wristband space. While 1-D barcodes cannot always fit all of the information, they can be scanned by all types of barcode readers, unlike 2-D barcodes which can fit more information, but require a … Read more

Barcode scanning technology continues to improve patient safety.

Am J Health Syst Pharm (2009;66 1110-1115): “A total of 1465 medication administrations were observed (775 preimplementation and 690 postimplementation) for 92 patients (45 preimplementation and 47 postimplementation). The medication error rate was reduced by 56% after the implementation of BCMA (19.7% versus 8.7% , p < 0.001). This benefit was related to a reduction … Read more

Barcodes ‘help face recognition’

BBC News: “Faces are made up of “barcodes” which help us recognise each other, according to scientists. The researchers at Stirling University and UCL manipulated the faces of celebrities such as Marlon Brando and George Clooney for their study. Their results suggested that most of the information needed to identify someone could be found in the lines … Read more