Medication Barcoding:Comments welcome

[OB/RNDEBBIEROSE]

Hello All,

I am an RN working in a small hospital that is just in the beginning

stages of implementing Barcode Medication Verification, and would

love to get some input from those of you who have experience using

this technology. I am very interested in hearing about even the simple

things, such as: The best wristbands to use, Tethered VS. Untethered

Scanners, What carts have you had good success with (user friendly),

etc. Any info welcomed!!

[mcknis]

Those who I know who have used this system before, really do enjoy the barcoding. I can't wait to hear how others like it.

[elkpark]

I recently (a few months ago) started a staff nurse job at a new facility, where I am using a barcode med system for the first time. I love it! It virtually eliminates the possibility of med errors -- you would have to really work at it to make one.

I'm sorry that I don't know the proprietary name of any of the parts of the system (carts, software, etc.) The computers built into rolling carts you can easily take with you from room to room (although we don't do that in the psych setting in which I work -- the clients come to the med window), and the scanners are "free range" (not attached to the carts; would that be "untethered"? The medications themselves are stored in and retrieved from a Pyxis system that is entirely separate from the med administration system.

One feature that I really like is the immediate availability of drug info -- you can just highlight any medication ordered for a particular client and click on a button at the bottom of the screen, and that opens up a screen with all the standard info about the drug. There's also a button at the bottom of the screen that allows you to send an immediate message to the pharmacy, right from the cart while you're giving meds.

[queenjean]

I like the untethered hand held device as opposed to the tethered one. Both have their advantages, but the handheld one works best, in my opinion.

Our entire system is Cerner. I've only worked one other system (an old, old, DOS format one), so my experience is limited, but Cerner is fine. It could definitely be improved, but overall I'm happy with it.