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BARCODES ARE standard on millions of
consumer goods. They’re used for tracking air-
line baggage, pricing groceries and delivering
mail. Now they’re debuting at Jackson Hospi-
tal. Patients will notice the same small black-
and-white striped codes on their wristbands
the next time they receive care in one of our
facilities.
Why? We have recently invested in innova-
tive barcode technology and other clinical sys-
tems to improve medication safety.
SAFE AND EFFICIENT
“Before giving a medication, nurses will use a
handheld device to scan their own employee
ID, then scan the medication and the patient’s
wristband,” said Cody Butts, project manager
for the Horizon Admin-Rx
TM
implementation.
“An alert will trigger if one of the five rights—
the right patient, the right drug, the right dose,
the right route and the right time—isn’t met,
prompting the nurse to check the patient’s
chart and the doctor’s order.”
This enables a nurse to review the most cur-
rent patient information—including any known
allergies—before he or she administers the
medication, helping to prevent errors. The new
system also enables the nurse to document pa-
tient care electronically. And it reduces the time
he or she spends on other labor-intensive pa-
perwork and frees up more time to spend with
patients.
AT THE VANGUARD
With less than a quarter of U.S. hospitals cur-
rently using barcode scanning technology, Jack-
son Hospital joins an elite group of healthcare
organizations that are using the systems to im-
prove patient safety and care.
Because the system automatically updates the
patient’s electronic medication administration
record, patient information is instantly available
to all members of the care team.As a result, phy-
sicians, nurses, pharmacists and other caregivers
can monitor the therapeutic effectiveness of a
particular drug treatment and make alterations
in the patient’s treatment for the most success-
ful outcomes.
“We are entering a new era in patient safety
at Jackson Hospital,” Butts said. “These elec-
tronic controls will help our nurses and staff
ensure the health of our patients.”
Introducing
STAY TUNED!
FOR MORE NEWS
FROM JACKSON
HOSPITAL, GO TO
UNDER “E-HEALTH
RESOURCES,”
CLICK ON “FREE
E-NEWSLETTER.”
the barcoded patient
JACKSON.ORG
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