Page 62 - 2022 Risk Basics - Systems

SVMIC Risk Basics: Systems

Medication Safety in EHR

If using dropdown boxes from which to select medications and/or
dosages, use care to verify that the correct medication and correct

dose have been selected before entering the information into the
e-Prescribing system.

If an alert/alarm is triggered because of a contraindication or potential

drug interaction with other medications, dosing problem (i.e., high dose,
wrong route), or notification that the quantity of medication prescribed

or the duration for which it has been prescribed exceeds that which is
recommended by the manufacturer, confirm the details were selected

accurately and appropriately.

Document how the alert was addressed, or why it was overridden. By

and large, most medication errors are preventable, particularly when
they happen as a result of a poorly designed or implemented system.

There are many instances of systems failures related to electronic
health records. The challenge is to determine if the failure is with a

component of the EHR or with the internal policy for users. In either
case, the responsibility for vetting the issue and correcting it lies with the

physician. Although customizing features with the EHR vendor can be
costly, workarounds can lead to the failure of the clinical decision support

functions and lead to patient harm.

Guidelines for Reducing Risk of a Medication Error

Claim

1. Take a complete medication history at the first office visit.

2. Update the medication history at each office visit, including

allergies/intolerance.

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