We are referring to the simultaneous preparation of medications in the ward, to later be taken to the rooms of the various patients.
This practice speeds up preparation. For example, preparing all the syringes at once and then taking them to the rooms.
Many times it is prepared by taking it from the electronic dispensers, then passing it through the barcode to take it out. It seems like everything is under control, but it is not!
Because, if there is no control with a bar code, again, at the bedside, there is a great possibility of error by mixing up doses and patients.
Often, professionals rely on their work to separate the various medications and, by using an electronic dispenser with barcodes, think they can do their work faster than by treating one patient at a time.
However, this is one of the cases where the electronic dispensary is used that does not guarantee that the medicine reaches the right patient.
But if there is a double check, already at the patient's bedside, errors in medication administration can be eliminated. We still have few hospitals that use this double check.
A ISMP (Institute for Safe Medication Practices) on February 07, 2019, updated the new version of the document on medication administration practices, warning about all the problems related to the inappropriate use of medical dispensaries.
