Using computrization to reduce medication errors

USING COMPUTERIZATION TO REDUCE

MEDICATION ERRORS

SUBMITTED BY

USING COMPUTERIZATION TO REDUCE MEDICATION ERRORS

INTRODUCTION

Changes occurring in Health care delivery and Medicine are the result of social , economical , technological , scientific forces that have evolved in the 21st century . Among the most significant changes are shift in disease patterns , advanced technology , increased consumer expectations and high costs of health care . These factors have redefined nursing practices to fit into the changing health delivery system . Thus nursing profession is `accountable ' to the society . i .e , obliged to the laws

regulating the professional activity . This `accountability ' is usually spelt out in Patient Care Documents ' established by hospital associations and medical associations or councils of every country (Suzanne , 2004 . In addition , the nursing profession has defined its standards of accountability through a formal code of ethics

Patient 's perceptions of health care , particularly disagreements and researches of various kinds with medical professionals have caught the attention of every one since 1980s . These disagreements have turned often into legal complaints (Ellen Annandale 1998 . These disagreements turned legal complaints lead to long medical litigations

PROBLEM ADDRESSED

USING COMPUTERIZATION TO REDUCE MEDICATION ERRORS With increased patient awareness of the health care delivery situations , media flare up and public opinions medical practice has become more accountable today and there is a radical departure from the traditional medical practice which draws upon the personal experiences , case studies and research of the physician and not the health care delivery system as a whole entity . Modern Science has bestowed Health care delivery system with excellent technological innovations . One such innovation is the Computerization of the entire health care delivery system . Computerization has contributed enormously towards the reduction of medical errors and the problems associated with such errors . This includes computerization of the medical records popularly known as the Electronic Medical Record System (EMR ) in digital format , Electronic Prescriptions , Personal Digital Assistants , Computer automated cancer detection and Computerized theatre management applications

THE PROBLEM QUESTION

The PICO format is a convenient way to frame and design problem questions . As per PICO format the

Patients : The patients to be addressed are patients under all categories who will be benefited by computerization of medical procedures

Intervention : Using computerization to reduce medical errors

Comparison : The intervention will be compared with the current method of medical procedures in practice that contributes to or reduces medical errors

Outcomes : The expected outcome of using computerization in medical procedures is to reduce medical errors of all kinds

Based on the PICO format , the question of this is : Does using computers in medical procedures reduce medical errors

SEARCH STRATEGY

Absence of support structures for sustained evidence , lack of commitment to the process , insufficient evidence for too many problems do pose some challenges in the search for literature in computerization of medical procedures . Hence , a search for systemic evidence was necessary for the care practice . Goggle with a wide range of academic materials was searched for current research article on the chosen care aspect Cochrane was another source for extensive...