In the past we have written about the impact technology is having on providing better health care. When relied upon unduly, problems will ensue. When used correctly however, practices may be improved reducing harm to patients in Pennsylvania and throughout the country. One area where steps are being taken using technology is the reduction of medication errors.

A particularly complex area of medication administration is the infusion of IV medications. This is in part due to the large amount of documentation that must constantly be kept. York Hospital in Pennsylvania has taken steps to improve the accuracy of administering drugs this way. This is particularly important since, according to WellSpan's vice president of patient care services and clinical transformation officer, it is twice as likely that a medication error will be made in relation to administering IV medication as when delivering other medication.

The hospital has partnered with Cerner Millennium HER to implement a technology that partners real-time infusion data such as the name of the medicine being infused as well as the amount and rate, with and an infusion pump that is automatically programmed. Titled CareAware Infusion Management, the first piece of the project was implemented in December 2009. By July 2010, all of the pieces were in place.

The goal is of course to lower the number of medication errors. According to the hospital's coordinator of nursing clinical informatics, the impact at the point-of-care has been positive. She said the chance that a human error will occur has been lowered by using the smart pump auto-programming.

Source: Pharmacy Practice News, "Pharmacy-to-Bedside IV Management Team Scores at York Hospital," Oct. 2011