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Electronic medical records (EMRs) can play an important role in the reduction of medication errors, but they should not be considered the be-all, end-all solution. Healthcare organizations, in fact, are discovering that simply implementing single-platform EMR systems is not enough to truly protect patients from the medication errors that cost the U.S. healthcare system close to $20 billion annually.1 In fact, 25% of the 250 healthcare professionals who recently participated in a HIMSS Media survey agreed that expecting the EMR to address the medication management process can be a significant barrier to medication management success, while another 52% said this expectation could act as a moderate barrier.2 To have a greater impact on patient safety, hospitals and health systems should consider supporting connected medication management initiatives that integrate information from a variety of systems and devices to provide more comprehensive information to clinicians. To accomplish this, healthcare leaders need to ensure that EMRs are utilized as part of a connected medication management system that links a variety of systems and devices including computerized physician order entry (CPOE), pharmacy, barcode medication administration (BCMA), automated medication dispensing, inventory management, and electronic medication-administration applications. Such connectivity can provide clinicians with a comprehensive view of the patient’s medication profile and can help close some of the gaps that exist when various technologies are used in isolation. As a result, “clinicians have vital information and safety checks available to them and are much more comfortable administering medications, as they are less likely to commit an error,” said Philip Bradley, who currently serves as regional director of the Americas, HIMSS Analytics, and  formerly worked in IT leadership positions at healthcare provider organizations. The value associated with having access to integrated information comes to light when considering the risk commonly associated with intravenous (IV) infusion pumps, which rapidly introduce drugs into a patient’s bloodstream. An estimated 56% of medication errors are IV-related, and 61% of these errors are life-threatening.3 Manually programming order parameters into the infusion pump can open up the possibility for programming errors. By connecting the infusion pump with the EMR, you can enable bidirectional data flow, sending the order parameters directly to the pump to increase medication safety, while also ensuring timely and accurate documentation. This integration is crucial to a connected medication management system. “It isn’t economical to have a nurse standing there collecting data every 10 minutes on five reference values,” Bradley concluded. “However, integrated devices can do that and then provide the data that helps physicians and other caregivers make more informed decisions. That’s extremely important when working with high-risk medications.” To fully optimize the EMR as a patient safety tool, healthcare leaders need to strive to connect these solutions with other technologies as part of a connected medication management system. This connectivity is designed to improve the efficiency and safety of medication management processes while also generating robust analytics and alerts to help drive decisions about medication management and patient care. References Andel, C. et. al. The economics of health care quality and medical errors. Journal of Health Care Finance, 2012 Fall; 39(1):39-50. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23155743 HIMSS Media. Transforming medication management: Insights on connected medication management. December 2019.  Prusch, A., Suess, T., Paoletti, R., Olin, S. et al. Integrating technology to improve medication administration. Am J Health-Syst Pharm, May 2011, 68(9):835–842   The need for connectivity which improves the efficiency and safety of medication management processes while also generating robust analytics extends across various health care settings, including the pharmacy. On June 16, attend a two-part virtual event hosted by BD where Visante C-suite will reveal how pharmacy programs can help to achieve organizational goals, and an experienced pharmacy panel will discuss how quality pharmacy analytics correlate to high performing pharmacy programs. Learn more and register now.

At the HIMSS APAC Malaysia Digital Health Summit session titled “Digital Health - From Innovation to Adoption” by guest speakers Wilson Choo (Chief Executive Officer of Sunway Medical Centre Velocity) and Dr Ng Xin Jun (Manager of Sunway Group Healthcare), both shed light on the various technological healthcare advancements made at Sunway Medical Centre Velocity (SMCV) as a case study. At SMCV, an integration project between its patients’ monitoring devices and electronic medical record was developed in order to achieve a seamless and wireless transfer of patients’ vital signs with “Early Warning Scores”.  A key feature of the new implemented EMR at SMCV is its Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) which allows doctors to order medicine or laboratory/ radiology services via the system whilst being able to check the status of these orders. Similarly, nurses would also be able to key in their orders for medication as well as the respective procedures which they have carried out on each patient.   Clinical Decision Support is another feature embedded within the EMR which allows healthcare providers to gain access to the drug allergies as well as medications administered to patients. This results in better healthcare decisions and effectively prevents any medication errors. A system aptly named “Early Warning Score” was developed for scoring the physiological measurements of patients and routinely recorded at the patient’s bedside. Its purpose was to allow for early identification of acutely ill patients and recorded information such as a patient’s temperature, systolic blood pressure and urine output. A key success factor underlying the success of this integration project was due to the efforts of a governance committee. Frequent meetings were held every month to discuss any ambiguities or to resolve any issues within the system. Priority was given to resolve issues pertaining to patient safety and system enhancements. Relevant key stakeholders such as management personnel or members of the clinical team and vendors were brought into these meetings whenever necessary. Digitalization and innovation was also amalgamated within the hospital’s daily operations as well. Sunway Medical Centre was one of the earliest companies who adopted tele-consultation during Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) period (a form of countrywide lockdown due to COVID-19), which allowed patients to continue to consult doctors even when they were at home. A patient portal was also developed which facilitated the booking of appointments and retrieval of radiology results online.  Patients were also encouraged to download the hospital app on their mobile devices which allowed them to check the queues at the hospital to reduce their waiting times at the medical facility. Insurance integration is also in the works, which will enable patients to make electronic payment, billing and payment integration with major insurers. This will also provide greater transparency to patients as they will also be able to track the status of their insurance applications. A long term direction for the hospital was also put in place with plans to include progressive initiatives to make crucial patient information more accessible and timely, even allowing doctors to have real time visibility of vital signs on their mobile devices.

A HIMSS survey recommends that electronic medical records should be just one part of connected medical management initiatives that draw data from multiple systems and devices.

Executives from Epic, Allscripts, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks and Greenway reveal what business decision makers should expect from their forthcoming software and cloud-based services.

Healthcare leaders Robert Wachter, David Bates, Leah Binder and Tejal Gandhi take the pulse of how far patient safety has come in recent decades – and point toward the work that lies ahead.

Nicole Wilson, RN, MSN, CPHIMS, clinical marketing manager of medication management solutions at BD, offers her insight on the HIMSS Analytics 2017 Medication Management and Safety Study.

Hint: The health system achieved a 98.5 percent compliance rate for caregivers scanning medication and patient wristbands. 

Leapfrog Group says 30 percent of hospitals fully meet the four criteria for bar code medication administration, though 74 percent meet the group’s two CPOE criteria.

A former CIO gets a close up look of the assessment side

Electronic data interchange and in-house transcription are just two of the five emerging health IT applications that will surge in 2016, according to a new report by HIMSS Analytics.