why do so many nurses post that they love the med scanners

NursesRmofun, ASN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

Anywho.....lol....I like them but they can "act up"...meaning taking too long or repositioning to scan. I think the pros outweigh the cons. :)

Everline · Aug 30, 2015

Med scanners rock!!!

Most of the time anyway.

nrsang97, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

My issue is that when I need one they are never available. (I am rapid response and often times chart at the desk.) I always have to grab one. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn't.

FurBabyMom, MSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

When I worked the floor, I LOVED the scanners. I think it, while it takes some getting used to, adds a lot for patients and provides a constant checking mechanism for the nurses.

I work in the OR. We don't scan meds - all of our medications are verbal orders and not processed by pharmacy and cleared for administration. Then again, most of what we give as OR staff (not speaking for anesthesia - resident or CRNA - as that's a different ball of wax) is stuff like hemostatic agents, local anesthetics and antibiotic solutions - most people won't have a life threatening reaction or anything BAD happen getting those drugs. There is a slight potential for local toxicity, but most procedures under general anesthesia don't require that high of a volume of local. There's very few things we give routinely that could cause something catastrophic to happen to patients (totally unlike the floor where we had all kinds of meds we gave with all kinds of parameters and such). Even when we do - there are about 5 people involved in those discussions - the surgeon and/or their resident, the scrub person, the circulator and often anesthesia team is aware of what we're giving. It's a system of human double, triple, quadruple, etc checks.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

next time you are on a jet flight at 30000 feet or in your car going 55 mph + and the jet or your vehicle acts w/problems like the scanners routinely do--then you know in your last living breath that the scanners really are a fraud and someone made you post such nonsense that they are great.

It is then that you realize that scanners are an even bigger threat to jets than are cell phones. :uhoh3:

VANurse2010 · Aug 30, 2015

Why do so many nurses post that they love the med scanners, b/c, as we all know: they are shills and somehow these posts are turning up b/c the scanners are slow at best, and 2, next time you are on a jet flight at 30000 feet or in your car going 55 mph + and the jet or your vehicle acts w/problems like the scanners routinely do--then you know in your last living breath that the scanners really are a fraud and someone made you post such nonsense that they are great.

Someone's off his meds.

Dogen · Aug 30, 2015

Now that so many people have responded & the OP only has 6 posts I'm gonna start taking bets on whether or not she will return.

When I worked in a small community hospital patients had an envelope with their name on it, which was in one of many slots in a drawer, where each slot had the number of a room on it. The envelopes were filled once a day with all the scheduled meds for the next 24 hours. The drawer wasn't even locked.

I think OP works for Big Envelope, trying to get us to go back. Envelopes are definitely cheaper than a Pyxis/Omnicell machine...

Karou · Aug 30, 2015

I don't really understand the OP's disdain of scanners. I DO love them. I have worked both with and without them, and have been there when the computers have crashed and we can't use them. I prefer a computer charting system/EMAR with a scanner for medications any day over paper charting and paper MARs. They are not infallible, true, but neither are humans and scanners do reduce the chance of medication errors. Still have to go through the 5 rights of course.

Our computers and scanners usually work. It's unusual for us to have one not working and if that's the case then we have a computer on wheels that we can drag and use.

NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

Medication scanners have saved me from tons med errors. . Infact, last night. . A colleague was about to give Lasix 20mg and she had supposedly brought out 20mg vial from the pyxus. Not knowing that the pharm tech had put the 40mg and 20mg in the same box.. which was never supposed to be. Evidently, it was their mistake.

So, while in the midst of our crazy night shift she was hurrying to give the med. . She forgot to scan it.. but had pulled it from the vial.. thinking that she had pulled 20mg..so before she gave it she scanned the vail and it read error in the barcode and stuff. . She then cross checked. Just to find out that it was the 40mg vial..

She notified the charge nurse and we all went to the pyxus and tried to pull another 20mg vial and found out that there were ALOT of 40mg vials mixed with the 20's..

So you see... she would have given a double dose.. imagine what it could have caused in the pt..

I was just wondering , in our ER they don't scan. . And we all know that it gets very crazy.. what if someone pulled 4 of the 20's to give 80mg... without scanning. . And it was actually going to be 4 of the 40's.. that's a huge disaster, you know...

So IMO, no matter how slow it is... the scanner still saves our behinds...lol..

Just ma 2cents.

~PedsRN~, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2015

I love when you call me "Big Scanner".

:smokin:

thmpr · Aug 31, 2015

Scanners have never given me troubles, but you're not the only one who hates them. I once saw a nurse get ticked off at one and fling it down the hall. It sort of bounced and slid; and remarkably it didn't break. I was impressed by the durability. The nurse needed some repairs though...

Conqueror+, BSN, RN · Aug 31, 2015

I love them because they don't get tired and "miss" something like I might.