Pharmacist Bouke van der Stok explains that nurses carefully check whether the correct medicines are administered to a patient. This task requires intensive effort and full attention, over and over again. When this control was still performed manually, each medication was checked individually, often even by two nurses.
With the increase in the number of medical treatments, with patients using more different medicines, giving nurses medication is more complex than ever, according to Van der Stok. “To support them in this, we use an innovative digital medication control system: MedEye. This puts us at the forefront in the Netherlands in the field of medication safety.”
Administer medicines
MedEye is a system consisting of a metal box with a special camera and a drawer. Nurses place tablets and capsules in this drawer for medication control. The camera then takes a picture and compares the image with the information in the digital medicine library. “The system recognizes all the unique properties of a tablet or capsule, such as size, shape, thickness, color and score line. The system can also count the tablets and capsules and calculate whether the amount corresponds to what is prescribed,” says Van der Stok.
According to nurse Joya Spataro, this digital check is faster than she says she can work and also safer. She sees on the computer screen which medicines the doctor has prescribed and what MedEye has scanned. If this does not match, the system issues a warning and can correct the deviation.
IVs and syringes
In addition to tablets and capsules, MedEye also checks medication in infusions and syringes. This is done using a hand scanner. Long-term infusions still require manual monitoring by a second nurse. However, a trial is currently being carried out to digitize this check as well.
Spataro explains that they educate patients about the use of digital medication monitoring at the time of medication administration. Most patients have no problem with this. However, there are some patients who prefer not to have their tablets removed from the packaging, for example because they want to maintain control themselves. In such cases, additional explanations are provided at each step of the verification process. If necessary, manual checks are carried out and extra attention is paid to the check. Patients are encouraged to ask questions, and there is always room for discussion.
Error reduction
MedEye is now used in several hospitals and has prevented many errors in the allocation of medication since its introduction in 2016. Two years after its introduction, there were already 100,000. According to Prof. Dr. Toine Egberts Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Utrecht, the most important errors in the medication process occur at the prescribing stage, during administration of medication and when patients switch care settings.
2023-05-22 14:20:27
#medicines #innovation #ICThealth
