Complex Medication Doses Prompt Increase In Safety Measures
Major medical institutions have begun to implement advanced dosing programs to reduce the risk of error in patient medication. Caregivers hope to safeguard against over- and under-dosing by ensuring the correct amount of a drug arrives straight from the distributor.
Advances in medicine have made it possible to more closely tailor prescription drugs to patients’ individual needs. This is particularly true for those whose medical conditions are more complex. Neonatal prescriptions are based on a number of factors including age and weight. Others in need of more customized medications include the elderly and those whose illnesses are in advanced stages.
Yet with these advances comes an increased risk: the more complex the dosing, the more possible chances for errors to be made from a drug’s conception to its delivery to a patient. Studies show that the majority of dosing errors occur during the ordering stage of the process.
Many medical institutions are taking extra precautions when ordering medication as a result. Duke University Hospital has adopted the Advance Dosing program of Horizon Expert Orders, from leading healthcare technologies provider McKesson.
The Advancing Dosing program contains a set of highly-customized dosing guidelines based on a number of criteria including the patient’s age, weight, body surface area, renal function, and diagnosis. These guidelines are implemented at the time of ordering to ensure delivery of the correct medication dosage.
The guidelines reduce inaccuracies by coordinating dosing practices throughout the hospital. This helps to standardize the care patients receive and reduce any instances of human error.
Having one standardized set of guidelines also increases hospital efficiency. Caregivers no longer need multiple reference sources in order to calculate the correct dosage for a given situation.
Duke and other hospitals are already beginning to see a return on the time and money they have invested to implement these advanced dosing programs. Hospital patients are receiving less varied care and physicians are seeing improvements in treatment outcomes.
Healthcare providers hope the overall number of problems arising from medication inaccuracy will continue to decline as more and more hospitals implement strict dosing guideline programs.
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