The value of data.One area ripe with patient safety issues is medication dispensing or adverse drug events (ADE). Incident report studies have identified more than 380,000 annual preventable ADEs in hospitals and 800,000 in long-term care facilities long-term care facility n. See skilled nursing facility. . While these figures are quite shocking, on the positive side, healthcare IT is a proven, valuable means of mitigating medication errors medication error Malpractice An error in the type of medication administered or dosage. See Adverse effect, Error. . Whether through an EHR (Electronic Health Records) Computerized medical records that bring patient care into the digital age and save time, money and lives. The push to adopt comprehensive electronic documentation between doctors' offices and hospital settings intensified after the RAND , pop-up alert or via a paper form alert, healthcare IT can trigger mechanisms to reduce the incidence of medication errors including incorrect drug, wrong dosage dosage /dos·age/ (do´saj) the determination and regulation of the size, frequency, and number of doses. dos·age n. 1. Administration of a therapeutic agent in prescribed amounts. , drug allergies drug allergy An immune response to a therapeutic. See Allergy. , drug-drug interactions and dangerous contraindications. Additionally, ICD ICD International Classification of Diseases (of the World Health Organization); intrauterine contraceptive device. ICD abbr. billing codes and lab codes could be the impetus for dispensing certain critical medications in accordance with medical best practices to avoid potential adverse events. Healthcare facilities should embrace sophisticated healthcare IT software that records, tracks, shares and analyzes critical information, such as clinical, administrative and billing. The value proposition--for patients and the healthcare system--includes timely access to these data, patient safety improvements, adherence to medical best practices and robust outcomes analyses. Furthermore, these critical data sets must be available across the continuum of care to have optimal value as a means of reinforcing and expanding the patient safety net. With the implementation of a robust healthcare IT system that has terminology management capabilities, all retrospective, current and prospective data form the foundation for realtime analyses and timely reporting. Healthcare entities can use this vital information to avoid medical errors, gauge the effectiveness of current safety measures safety measures, n.pl actions (e.g., use of glasses, face masks) taken to protect patients and office personnel from such known hazards as particles and aerosols from high-speed rotary instruments, mercury vapor, radiation exposure, anesthetic and , evaluate medical best practices and improve patient outcomes. From a patient safety perspective, healthcare IT should not only identify risky situations, and potentially harmful practices and medical errors (pre- or post-event), it should also alert, report and analyze these events to prevent, minimize and eliminate future harm or death. |
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