While in the hospital, nurses are the primary care providers for patients. Oftentimes hospital units are crowded and busy. Staffing shortages may require nurses to care for and be responsible for the health and wellbeing of several patients. In these types of chaotic settings, it's no wonder that nursing errors occur.

Each year, an estimated 100,000 patients die as a result of medical errors. Countless more suffer pain and permanent injuries as a result of medical errors. Recognizing the need to prevent these errors, many hospitals are instituting new safety policies and technologies.

Medication errors are common medical mistakes that can result in patients suffering serious injury and even death. In an effort to prevent medication errors, one children's hospital has began using a new computerized system that alerts nurses of discrepancies prior to a medication being given to a patient.

Medication errors involving children are particularly concerning due to children's size and weight. The new technology aims to prevent medication errors by cross-checking the bar code on a patient's wristband with the patient's medical chart. If a discrepancy between the two registers, an alert is generated and the nurse knows an error has occurred.

During just one month, 234 medication errors were recorded. Some of these errors included nurses who were about to give the wrong medication to a patient. In matters involving very sick and small patients, a medication error can result in death.

The hospital, alarmed by the high number of medication errors detected, plans to permanently implement the technology. Additionally, other children's hospitals around the country have also expressed interest in the new technology.

Source: The Star Tribune, "On the health beat: An IV machine that stops errors," Maura Lerner, Nov. 9, 2012