Stanly Regional Medical Center is committed to providing quality patient care and continuous improvement through its participation in a national safety initiative aimed at preventing medication errors. Patients now entering the medical center are asked to bring a list of their current medications and dosage amounts with them upon admission. Others may choose to bring the actual medications with them for nursing staff to document. Both of these practices are encouraged to help reduce the risk for medication errors during treatment.
Once we begin treating a patient for a condition, there may be times when a medication should be discontinued or the dosage of a prescription a patient was taking before admission needs to be altered. Avoiding drug interactions is an important piece in a patient’s care, and we want to do everything we can to keep our patients safe from possible medication errors.
Stanly Regional Medical Center has also implemented a new process that ensures patient safety during medication administration. This new process, bedside medication verification (BMV), enhances safe medication administration through the “Five Rights” of medication management: right patient, right medication, right dosage, right route, and right yime. To provide positive patient identification, wristbands now include a barcode. Caregivers scan the barcode on the medication to be administered and then scan the barcode on the patient’s wristband to correctly identify that the right medication and dosage is being given to the right patient at the right time, by the right route.
This progressive technology will not only add another safety measure for medication, but also allow nursing and other clinical staff to perform patient documentation more efficiently at the bedside. By keying in prescribed medications directly into a patient’s electronic medical record, it establishes a set of checks and balances that helps to ensure patient safety.
“BMV is another example of how our staff is constantly striving to provide safe and quality health care to patients on a daily basis,” said Stanly Regional President and CEO Al Taylor.
Medication information wallet cards are available to patients. This tool is designed to hold all medication information needed both at the doctor’s office and medical center, because both groups need to be aware of current medications for one’s diagnosis and treatment. Additional wallet cards are available at Stanly Regional Medical Center, area medical offices or by download below.
Click here to download a copy of the medication information card.
Back to the top