Barcode Technology in Administration of Medication

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Introduction

Over the last two decade, the medication administration mechanism has changed owing to the evolution of the technology enabling quick fulfillment of prescription and medication for various ailments. These changes have been necessitated mostly by the increasing demand for healthcare server amidst a low population of qualified physicians and practitioners that cannot satisfy this high demand. Therefore, it was necessary to enhance a system that could aid in the patient evaluation, medication, most importantly, the follow-up to ensure the patients were receiving quality and that the readmission rate was reduced. Apparently, according to Alemayehu et al. (2018), an estimated population of 7,000 deaths are reported every year as a result of errors linked to medication which occur at various stages such as treatment process, ordering of drugs, dispensing the dosage, and patient follow-up activities which entails checking if the patient’s condition is improving. For this reason, technology in administering medication comes in handy in solving complications related to administration and human errors; therefore, in order to improve service levels in the health sector, medication technology should be adopted.

Medication Administration Technology as it Facilitate Health Care

Barcode medication administration (BCMA) is a technology that is used to reduce the errors that are likely to occur during the process of prescribing the dosage to the patient. According to Hofman et al. (2013), BCMA utilizes the integration of information systems technology known as the Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR) which contains specific item identification that can be read by a bar-code to improve on speed and accuracy during drug dispensation. In addition, the system is helpful by promoting the “five rights” of drug administration in a healthcare setup. These rights entail; right time, right dosage, right route, right patient, and finally, the right medication which can only be guaranteed by a flawless system.

The medication technology comprises the barcode reader, printer, a computer to control activities and software that is customized to facilitate recording, storage, retrieval, and alteration of the assigned codes. Since every drug is assigned a specific code, the physician sends electronic fax prescriptions regarding a patient, and the pharmacist provides the coded dosage of the medicine to the patient. Every Owing to changes in the variety of diseases that are common to human being, this technology facilitates clinic service by providing an integrated system that can be shared in sourcing patient data. For example, the technology works by keeping a detailed record of medication history...