I am not the one that did it at this facility, but we had our MIS/NPR gurus
alter the patient ID label so that the account and MRN numbers are combined
on the barcode of ALL labels EXCEPT the one that is designated clearly for
the ID band. Any equipment that is designated to function using the barcode
(Accuchecks, BMV scanners, etc) will not recognize the other labels' number.
That cut off some of the very creative workarounds with labels we had seen
even though the policy is scan the ID band only. 

  _____  

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Roy Coutts
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 12:27 PM
To: Sharon LaDuke; Bowles, Jodi; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MEDITECH-L] eMAR/BMV



Hi Jodi,

 

I have seen many of the same workarounds that Sharon has mentioned.  While I
was visiting a sister hospital, I noticed every room had a poster in it that
said something like "We scan the band every time".  They did some sort of
marking campaign and had a great little mascot in the shape of a pill saying
they always scan the medications and ID band.  If the patient was not
scanned they had the phone number to the administration office to be
reported by the patient.

 

I'm not sure how well it worked but I am sure having the patients involved
with their own care and possibly catching a nurse perform a workaround put
pressure on them to do things correctly.

 

Roy Coutts
Project Manager
Interface People, LP
396 W. Main St, Lewisville, TX, 75057
office: 214.222.1125 
fax: 214.292.9783
 <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED]

 

  _____  

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Sharon LaDuke
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:05 PM
To: Bowles, Jodi; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MEDITECH-L] eMAR/BMV

 

What I personally saw as a nursing director was

1)       scanning a label instead of the ID band on the patient's wrist.
This was in a facility that had big med carts on wheels, with a laptop
attached, and a hardwired scanner. The nurses said they were scanning labels
because "it makes too much noise to roll the med cart across the threshold
to the room, and we don't want to wake up the patient". A real barrier to
rolling the med cart into the room was that the nurse often had to move
furniture and equipment around to be able to get close enough to the patient
to reach him with the hard-wired scanner. The label-scanning thing was
happening at a lot of facilities until everyone figured out that they had to
have a way to ensure that the ID band, and only the ID band, could be
scanned in the eMAR system. So you need a way to allow the system to
differentiate between ID bands and labels. And it might be helpful to
consider what equipment is being provided, whether nurses have room to get
the equipment to the patient, etc. For training purposes, I think you have
to emphasize that scanning is a form of documentation, and point out the
illegality of intentionally falsifying information and what the consequences
could be. 

2)       opening medications prior to scanning - this is a big no no - works
OK in some circumstances, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
Otherwise, you have nurses who will open meds at the nurses station two
hours ahead of time, if that's when they have a free moment. Two hours later
- or 10 minutes later - if those meds haven't been under that nurse's direct
observation for the entire time, who is to say what's in there now? Plus, if
the nurse opens containers before scanning, the bar code labeled can be
ripped. You then have nurses looking through the patient's med drawer for
another pill so they can scan THAT one instead. The nurse THINKS it's the
same pill, but is it? As far as training goes, this may be a more subtle
point. It is more obvious to people, I think, that scanning something other
than the bracelet on the patient's wrist is wrong. There may need to be
discussion and consensus among nursing leadership regarding the issue of
opening meds before scanning, so that everyone is on the same page. There
may be times and settings when this could be permissible and those may need
to be defined.

3)       scanning the med but using the recall function at the "patient
name" prompt, instead of scanning the patient - the system was reconfigured
so that this could no longer be done. I don't know if this was happening
outside of my multi-site hospital system. You'll want to check and make sure
your system doesn't let you do that.

4)       rarely scanning for whatever reason - training, attitude, and/or
the belief that no one is paying attention (the standardized stat reports
can be used to disabuse nurses of the notion that nobody knows what they are
doing). Scanning numbers can also be down because there simply isn't enough
equipment to go around, eg 5 nurses on a unit sharing 4 med cart/emar
laptops, or because equipment is poorly supported, eg IT tech staff
insisting that all the laptop problems are due to stupid users. What I (and
others) would like to see happen is a follow-up retraining about one month
after initial eMAR/BMV training

5)       using the edit function (if I recall correctly) to "backtime"
medication administration time, to make it look like the med was given
within the (admittedly unrealistic) 30 minute administration window. This,
too, could be tracked with a report - but it might have been a custom.

What I have heard of is

1)       carrying an extra patient ID band in one's pocket to scan
(reportedly, the nurse believe this was OK because, after all, she was
scanning the patient's ID band)

2)       scanning the patient and med AFTER administration (reported to me
by a colleague recently hospitalized)

Sharon

 

  _____  

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Bowles, Jodi
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 8:53 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [MEDITECH-L] eMAR/BMV

 

My facility is once again attempting to  start BMV and eMAR.  I have noticed
lots of inquires on the "L" regarding workarounds with BMV. Can someone give
an example of a "workaround". Is there anything that I can do in the
planning and teaching phase of eMAR and BMV to help decrease workarounds?

Thanks

Jodi Bowles  RN, BSN

Clinical Systems Coordinator

Princeton West Virginia

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