Higher Medication Administration Errors Associated with Automated Dispensing System Usage

According to a report by The Institute of Medicine, medical errors were associated with up to 98,000 deaths and more than 1 million injuries each year in the United States. These errors can result in poor outcomes, which increase harm or death. According to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System, up to 15% of errors reported cite automated dispensing cabinets as the source of the drug involved in the error.Nearly 58% to 70% of hospitals nationwide use automated dispensing cabinets. Nurses play a critical role in promoting patient safety by surveilling and intercepting any possible errors that could occur during patient care, especially with medication administration. The purpose of this integrative literature review was aimed at exploring and analyzing research on various ways to decrease medication administration errors associated with automated dispensing system usage. The methods used to conduct this literature review included a search of the following databases: CINAHL Complete, PubMed, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Database, and Medline. The keywords used were medication administration, errors, pyxis, and automated dispensing system. The most common errors and risks associated with automated dispensing systems were identified as the inability to troubleshoot problems, reliance on technology, and not following the five rights of medication administration. Numerous methods and interventions have worked to decrease medication administration errors including limiting distractions and interruptions, providing adequate training and continued education, improving delivery methods, and advocating for nursing needs. Exploring these options is essential for improving patient safety amongst nursing professionals. Keywords: medication administration, errors, pyxis, automated dispensing syste

Evaluasi Dampak Penerapan Automated Dispensing Machine terhadap Dispensing Error di Farmasi Rawat Jalan Instalasi Farmasi Rumah Sakit Bethesda Yogykarta

Dispensing error is not uncommon in the medication proccess. Otomatisation of outpatient pharmacy services decrease the incidence of dispensing error, as well as improving the efficiency of picking, packing and labeling process. Since August 2014 an automated dispensing machine was installed in outpatient pharmascy Bethesda Hospital Yogyakarta, integrated with electronic prescribing and hospital information system. The objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of automated dispensing machine on the dispensing error at outpatient pharmacy Services using before and after study method. The procentage of drugs deliver by automated dispensing machine at the third and sixth month of implementation was 46% and 59%. Failure mode and effeect analysis of dispensing process done before the implementation, and the integration with electronic prescription and hospital information system, as well as the development of smart pack is the key of successed. The average of medications picked after the implementation of automated dispensing machine was (37,915.33 ± 3,160.12), higher than before implementation (36,812.67 ± 2,890.81), but not significant. The average of dispensing error after implementation (15,67 ± 6,28) was reduced significantly (p<0,05) than before (50.33 ± 34.47). The most frequent type of dispensing error were wrong quantity dispensed, wrong drug dispensed and wrong strength dispensed. The implementation of automated dispensing machine significantly reduce the incidence of dispensing error. Further investigaation needed to know the incidence of dispesning error cause by the machine and manual and factors that influenced

A Lean Perspective of the Medication Delivery System

Nurse-patient interaction is vital to the quality of patient care at any hospital. To increase the amount of time nurses have to spend with their patients the West Roxbury VA Hospital installed a number of automated medication dispensing units. This medication delivery system provides a stock of medications that are immediately available to nurses. Our team worked to quantify the success of this system at reducing missing medications and to analyze the hospital\u27s current medication delivery system as a whole

Integrated electronic prescribing and robotic dispensing: a case study

INTRODUCTION: To quantify the benefits of electronic prescribing directly linked to a robotic dispensing machine. CASE DESCRIPTION: Quantitative case study analysis is used on a single case. Hospital A (1,000 beds) has used an integrated electronic prescribing system for 10 years, and in 2009 linked two robotic dispensing machines to the system. The impact on dispensing error rates (quality) and efficiency (costs) were assessed. EVALUATION AND DISCUSSION: The implementation delivered staff efficiencies above expectation. For the out-patient department, this was 16% more than the business case had suggested. For the in-patients dispensary, four staff were released for re-deployment. Additionally, £500,000 in stockholding efficiency above that suggested by the business case was identified. Overall dispensing error rates were not adversely affected and products dispensed by the electronic prescribing - robot system produced zero dispensing errors. The speed of dispensing increased also, as the electronic prescribing - robot combination permitted almost instantaneous dispensing from the point of a doctor entering a prescription. CONCLUSION: It was significant that the combination of electronic prescribing and a robot eliminated dispensing errors. Any errors that did occur were not as a result of the electronic prescribing - robotic system (i.e. the product was not stocked within the robot). The direct linking of electronic prescribing and robots as a dispensing system together produces efficiencies and improves the quality of the dispensing process

Investigation Interoperability Problems in Pharmacy Automation: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this case study is to investigate the nature of interoperability problems in hospital systems automation. One of the advanced healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia is the host of the study. The interaction between the pharmacy system and automated medication dispensing cabinets is the focus of the case system. The research method is a detailed case study where multiple data collection methods are used. The modelling of the processes of inpatient pharmacy systems is presented using Business Process Model Notation. The data collected is analysed to study the different interoperability problems. This paper presents a framework that classifies health informatics interoperability implementation problems into technical, semantic, organisational levels. The detailed study of the interoperability problems in this case illustrates the challenges to the adoption of health information system automation which could help other healthcare organisations in their system automation projects

Is the pharmacy profession innovative enough?: meeting the needs of Australian residents with chronic conditions and their carers using the nominal group technique

Background Community pharmacies are ideally located as a source of support for people with chronic conditions. Yet, we have limited insight into what innovative pharmacy services would support this consumer group to manage their condition/s. The aim of this study was to identify what innovations people with chronic conditions and their carers want from their ideal community pharmacy, and compare with what pharmacists and pharmacy support staff think consumers want. Methods We elicited ideas using the nominal group technique. Participants included people with chronic conditions, unpaid carers, pharmacists and pharmacy support staff, in four regions of Australia. Themes were identified via thematic analysis using the constant comparison method. Results Fifteen consumer/carer, four pharmacist and two pharmacy support staff groups were conducted. Two overarching themes were identified: extended scope of practice for the pharmacist and new or improved pharmacy services. The most innovative role for Australian pharmacists was medication continuance, within a limited time-frame. Consumers and carers wanted improved access to pharmacists, but this did not necessarily align with a faster or automated dispensing service. Other ideas included streamlined access to prescriptions via medication reminders, electronic prescriptions and a chronic illness card. Conclusions This study provides further support for extending the pharmacist’s role in medication continuance, particularly as it represents the consumer’s voice. How this is done, or the methods used, needs to optimise patient safety. A range of innovative strategies were proposed and Australian community pharmacies should advocate for and implement innovative approaches to improve access and ensure continuity of care

Effect of automated unit dose dispensing with barcode scanning on medication administration errors:An uncontrolled before-and-after study

BACKGROUND: Medication administration errors (MAEs) occur frequently in hospitals and may compromise patient safety. Preventive strategies are needed to reduce the risk of MAEs. OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to assess the effect of central automated unit dose dispensing with barcode-assisted medication administration on the prevalence of MAEs. Secondary aims were to assess the effect on the type and potential severity of MAEs. Furthermore, compliance with procedures regarding scanning of patient and medication barcodes and nursing staff satisfaction with the medication administration system were assessed. METHODS: We performed a prospective uncontrolled before-and-after study in six clinical wards in a Dutch university hospital from 2018 to 2020. MAE data were collected by observation. The primary outcome was the proportion of medication administrations with one or more MAEs. Secondary outcomes were the type and potential severity of MAEs, rates of compliance with patient identification and signing of administered medication by scanning and nursing staff satisfaction with the medication administration system. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were used for the primary outcome to adjust for confounding and for clustering on nurse and patient level. RESULTS: One or more MAEs occurred in 291 of 1490 administrations (19.5%) pre-intervention and in 258 of 1630 administrations (15.8%) post-intervention (adjusted odds ratio 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.51–0.96). The rate of omission fell from 4.6% to 2.0% and of wrong dose from 3.8% to 2.1%, whereas rates of other MAE types were similar. The rate of potentially harmful MAEs fell from 3.0% (n = 44) to 0.3% (n = 5). The rates of compliance with scanning of patient and medication barcode post-intervention were 13.6% and 55.9%, respectively. The median overall satisfaction score of the nurses with the medication administration system on a 100-point scale was 70 (interquartile range 63–75, n = 193) pre-intervention and 70 (interquartile range 60–78, n = 145) post-intervention (P = 0.626, Mann–Whitney U test). CONCLUSION: The implementation of central automated unit dose dispensing with barcode-assisted medication administration was associated with a lower probability of MAEs, including potentially harmful errors, but more compliance with scanning procedures is needed. Nurses were moderately satisfied with the medication administration system, both before and after implementation. In conclusion, despite low compliance with scanning procedures, this study shows that this intervention contributes to the improvement of medication safety in hospitals

Technology Target Studies: Technology Solutions to Make Patient Care Safer and More Efficient

Presents findings on technologies that could enhance care delivery, including patient records and medication processes; features and functionality nurses require, including tracking, interoperability, and hand-held capability; and best practices

Telepharmacy and the Law

Recently, an Advisory Notice was placed on the website of the New York State Board of Pharmacy entitled Automated Dispensing Machines that provide drugs for sale to customers outside of their respective registered pharmacy areas , and that it considers this to be a violation of state law 1. In support, the Notice cited the Education Law relating to the profession of pharmacy2 and Regulations of the Commissioner of Education3. Finally, ownership of the pharmacy and the Supervising Pharmacist are responsible for compliance and may be subject to disciplinary and unprofessional conduct action . The Notice did not name specific pharmacies. The Board described a form of telepharmacy that is arguably covered by a legislative proposal before the New York State legislature