HeLPHOS Med

Technological tools can be used as valuable control measures to reduce the rate of errors in the medication process.

Electronic prescriptions and automatic dispensing systems are two tools that have begun to be used and been shown to improve the process. However, there are no computerised systems that ensure the traceability of a drug once it leaves the nursing station.

Treelogic have designed a solution that verifies the traceability of a medication, from the time it is prescribed to the time it is administered, including a bedside check to ensure mistakes are not made in administration.

This verification mechanism is based on a simple process

• -Before administration, the nursing staff will have to obtain the patient's details from his/her wristband using a handheld reader ; this information can be stored using a barcode or RFID. The handheld device will then read the barcode on the drug to verify that the type, time and dose correspond with the treatment prescribed.

When these technologies are applied to medication, there is a 33% decrease in "inappropriate drug" errors, a 43% decrease in " wrong time", errors and a 52% decrease in " omission of doses".