Simplifying medication management
Safe and accurate medication administration is essential in all healthcare settings, including care homes. Many residents rely on care home staff to manage and monitor their medication which is a huge responsibility.
In many cases, those requiring frequent medication are on a number of different medications which need to be administered at different times of the day; this requires careful attention and precision.
Giving residents an incorrect dose of medicine can be harmful; missed doses can cause side effects or stop the medicine from working, and administering the wrong drug can be fatal. Therefore, as a carer, it is vital to understand the resident’s needs and administer the correct drug and dose at the correct time.
Ensuring that a care home always has a resident’s necessary medications is crucial. Ordering, transporting, storing, and disposing of medications is a timely process but is necessary to prevent medication errors.
Hundreds of thousands of people suffer adverse consequences from medication errors every year – the British Medical Journal (BMJ), a global healthcare knowledge provider, estimated that 237 million medication errors occur at some point in the medication process in England annually, with 41.7% occurring in care homes.
In order to reduce medication errors, many care homes in the UK are automating their medication management and administration processes by looking for a digital solution with a thorough procurement process that increases resident safety.
Electronic medication administration (eMAR) systems are becoming increasingly popular in care homes, an alternative to paper-based MAR charts and a valuable tool that can help care homes reduce medication errors and improve operational efficiency.
eMAR systems, such as ATLAS eMAR, make it easy for care homes to keep residents’ medical records accurate and up to date by allowing care providers to digitally manage, schedule, and track resident medication and keep staff informed of their resident’s allergies.
The benefits of eMAR
eMAR systems make it easy for care workers to manage medication administration effectively and save time in the following areas:
- Booking in and reordering monthly medication
- Auditing your home
It also puts your care home and residents at the heart of all medication processes, reduces the risk of medication errors, ensures safe medication administration and helps with continual monitoring of a resident’s wellbeing.
Managing drug administration using barcode technology
Not all eMAR systems have the same features; finding the right system to fit your needs is important. ATLAS eMAR, part of Person Centred Software‘s family of products and an NHS-accredited system, incorporates a unique barcode technology that allows care providers to quickly scan medication and update records in real-time.
ATLAS eMAR’s barcode technology has helped to improve medication accuracy and streamline medication administration in care homes across the UK.
The system provides alerts and notifications for missed doses, expired medications, and potential drug interactions, helping prevent medication errors and ensure resident safety.
By using a system like ATLAS eMAR, care homes can reduce time spent on paperwork as everything is done digitally in one place, making documenting and maintaining records a lot easier.
ATLAS eMAR’s handheld device with built-in barcode scanners enables care teams to scan the barcodes on the dispensing labels at the point of administration, verifying whether or not the scanned medicine is correct for the resident. If the medicine is incorrect, the system immediately alerts the carer of an error. Using barcode technology has significantly increased resident safety in care homes.
With ATLAS eMAR, all care staff need to do is scan the pharmacy label using the barcode reader on the medication packet. Then, the handheld device runs automatic safety checks (medication, dose, timing, recipient) and flags any potential issues.
The barcode technology feature is simple, straightforward, and very effective, revolutionising how care providers manage their medication processes. ATLAS eMAR has been proven to reduce errors, as well as a reduction in the time it takes booking in medication. According to care providers who have implemented the ATLAS eMAR system, the benefits have been significant.
“I was impressed with the compliance checks in ATLAS eMAR; the barcode scanning to ensure that the right medication has been administered to the right person at the right time, and the safety and layers of checking surrounding it.”
Joe Holmes, Assistant General Manager, Ash View House
“Barcode scanning using ATLAS eMAR is great – it prompts and reduces errors; for example, if there is an item that is scanned, ATLAS eMAR will not allow staff members to issue wrong drugs and make an error – this meets very important CQC safeguarding and compliance measures.”
Mark Clements, Group Operations Manager, Springdene Care Home
To learn more about how Person Centred Software’s ATLAS eMAR system can benefit your medication management in your care home, book a demo today.
01483 357 657
hello@personcentredsoftware.com