Maryland Hospitals Decrease Medication Error with New Technology

According to a study that our Baltimore, Maryland attorneys reported on in a recent blog, thirty-five Maryland hospitals increased their median safety over the past ten years, reducing medication error and patient injury with new technology.

In Maryland’s Peninsula Regional Medical Center, the hospital is reportedly improving the tracking of patient records and the prevention of complications with drugs that can lead to medication errors, when medication is improperly administered, through technology. The hospital is reportedly using a barcode system that our Maryland medication error attorneys also discussed in a recent blog, that removes the chance for medication errors by using barcode scanners to ensure that the barcodes on the prescription match the patient’s bracelet wrist-band and the medication, as well as the dosage.

The hospital also uses “Rosie” the Pharmacy Robot, who joined the pharmacy in 1999 and fills 2,500 doses daily from the pharmacy with 100% accuracy. By using barcode technology, Rosie finds a patient’s drug that has been ordered by the physician and then entered by the pharmacist, and prepares the medication with a special barcode for patient delivery. The robot reportedly even notes when the medication stocks are running low and creates new orders electronically.

Other Maryland patient safety initiatives include the use of electronic medical records, Acudose Medication Storage Cabinets, where security codes are used and any drug taken from the cabinet is recorded, and Online Point of Care Wireless Patient Charting. The hospital is reportedly working on eliminating all human error, and continues to invest in new strategies and procedures as well as technology to reach “zero errors” to protect the health and safety of patients.

Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers represent victims of medication error victims in Maryland or the Washington, D.C. area. Contact our attorneys today for a free consultation.

Md. Hospitals Improve Safety Standards, WBOC 16, October 8, 2010
Study Finds Medication Use Safer in Maryland, Maryland Patient Safety Center, October 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:

Maryland Patient Safety Center

Patient and Medication Safety Initiatives: Peninsula Regional Medical Center

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