Article on Medication Errors
CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing
& Vol. 32, No. 12, 589–595 & Copyright B 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
F E A T U R E
A R T I C L E
Impact of an Electronic
Medication
Administration Record on Medication
Administration
Efficiency and Errors
JEFFERY MCCOMAS, MSN, RN, CNS
MICHELLE RIINGEN, DNP, RN, CNS-BC
SON CHAE KIM, PhD, RN
Congress authorized an initiative in 2004 to create a national health information technology infrastructure to improve patient outcomes through increased efficiency.1 The stated goal was to have electronic health records (EHRs) implemented for all Americans by 2014.2,3 The current literature supports the use of EHR because of the potential for higher quality of care, reduction in medication errors, ease of documentation with timely data entries at the point of care, and reduced time spent for documentation.4–6 As a component of EHR, the electronic medication administration record (eMAR) is to be implemented with the rationale that it will improve nursing efficiency, quality of care, and patient safety.7,8 The eMAR includes the automatic documentation of the medication administration using EHR technology.9 Before administering medications, the following five rights must be verified electroniAuthor Affiliations: Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla (Mr McComas); and School of Nursing, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego
(Dr Riingen), CA; and St David’s School of Nursing, Texas State University, Round Rock (Dr Kim).
This study was performed as part of the MSN degree requirements at School of Nursing, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA.
The authors have disclosed that they have no significant relationship with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article.
Corresponding author: Jeffery McComas, MSN, RN, CNS, Scripps
Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, 9888 Genesee Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037
(mccomas.jeff@scrippshealth.org).
DOI: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000116
The study aims
& Vol. 32, No. 12, 589–595 & Copyright B 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
F E A T U R E
A R T I C L E
Impact of an Electronic
Medication
Administration Record on Medication
Administration
Efficiency and Errors
JEFFERY MCCOMAS, MSN, RN, CNS
MICHELLE RIINGEN, DNP, RN, CNS-BC
SON CHAE KIM, PhD, RN
Congress authorized an initiative in 2004 to create a national health information technology infrastructure to improve patient outcomes through increased efficiency.1 The stated goal was to have electronic health records (EHRs) implemented for all Americans by 2014.2,3 The current literature supports the use of EHR because of the potential for higher quality of care, reduction in medication errors, ease of documentation with timely data entries at the point of care, and reduced time spent for documentation.4–6 As a component of EHR, the electronic medication administration record (eMAR) is to be implemented with the rationale that it will improve nursing efficiency, quality of care, and patient safety.7,8 The eMAR includes the automatic documentation of the medication administration using EHR technology.9 Before administering medications, the following five rights must be verified electroniAuthor Affiliations: Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla (Mr McComas); and School of Nursing, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego
(Dr Riingen), CA; and St David’s School of Nursing, Texas State University, Round Rock (Dr Kim).
This study was performed as part of the MSN degree requirements at School of Nursing, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA.
The authors have disclosed that they have no significant relationship with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article.
Corresponding author: Jeffery McComas, MSN, RN, CNS, Scripps
Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, 9888 Genesee Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037
(mccomas.jeff@scrippshealth.org).
DOI: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000116
The study aims
References: Adm. 2011;41(11):466–472. 7. Blumenthal D, Tavenner M. The meaningful use regulation for electronic health records. N Engl J med. 2010;363(6):501–504. Accessed July 14, 2014. aboutMedErrors.html. Accessed July 22, 2014. unit: a time-motion study. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2011;68: 1026–1031. 15. Donahue M, Brown J, Fitzpatrick J. Medication administration process assessment. J Nurs Adm. 2009;39(2):77–83. review. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2009;6(2):70–86. Qual. 2010;25(3):231–239. 23. Ward M, Vartak S, Schwichtenberg T, Wakefield D. Nurses’ perceptions of how clinical information system implementation affects workflow and patient care. Comput Inform Nurs. 2011;29(9):502–511. Inform Nurs. 2008;26(2):69–77. Permanente J. 2008;12(3):25–34. Inform Nurs. 2010;28(2):112–123.