Winter 2008 - Arkansas Children's Hospital

HOSPITAL NEWSStripes for SafetyProgram Making ThingsBetter for ACH Patients■ Kila OwensACH patients and caregivers are seeing stripes and spots!Stripes for Safety, a new bedside medication verification programat ACH, was recently launched throughout the hospital.The program uses barcodes (stripes) to double-check all medicationsbefore they go to a patient. Dr. Jerril Green*, associatehospital medical director at ACH, was a member of the medicationsafety committee that spearheaded the Stripes for Safety program.“Every bottle or every dose of medicine at ACH has a barcodeon it, and every patient has an armband with a barcode on it,”Dr. Green says. “The caregiver scans both the patient armbandand the medication. The scans link to the medication order in thecomputer system that will let the medical professional know ifthat medicine is right for that patient.”If the barcodes do not match, the medical professional is alertedto verify the medication. This process simply adds a “doublecheck”to all medication administration.The mobile computer carts that are used in this program weregiven an affectionate nickname: “cows” (computer on wheels).To make the system fun and exciting for patients, manycaregivers named and decorated their individual “cows” withblack spots and “eat more chicken” signs.“Because we have fun with the new program, a lot of patientsget a kick out it,” says Larry Kingrey, a respiratory therapist. “Ijoke with my patients that it’s time for their Wal-Mart scan.”Safety has always been a priority at ACH, but a few years ago,as part of an effort to continuously make things better and saferfor patients, a group of individuals from several hospital departmentscame together to do a top-to-bottom assessment of therisks and dangers present in the medication process at the hospital.After doing extensive research, the team began looking for atechnology solution to assist nurses and other caregivers withmedication administration.Two caregivers, dressed ascows to promote theStripes for Safety program,prepare to administermedication to a patientby first scanning thebarcode located on thechild’s armband, thenscanning the medication.This bedside medicationverification program is anew initiative at ACH.“In the late 1990s, the Institute of Medicine put out a report thatsaid somewhere between 44,000 and 98,000 people nationwide die ofmedical errors per year and a huge portion of those deaths wererelated to medication,” says Dr. Green. “So, if we can make hospitalssafer, we can actually save people’s lives.”Stripes for Safety was first used by respiratory therapists at ACH.A few months later, it was rolled out to two other units. After thesystem was determined to be a success, it was implemented in allunits of the hospital in three phases. The roll-out was complete inmid-December 2007.Because the program is so new, results are not yet compiled, butthe system eventually will monitor how often an incorrect medicationis scanned and denied. Appropriate adjustments can then be made toimprove the medication process.Dr. Green is excited about the new program, especially the impactit will have on patients. “This program is not just making things betterfor kids at ACH; it protects their lives by preventing the errorsthat could potentially kill them.”*Jerril W. Green, M.D., is associate hospital medical director at ACHand associate professor of pediatrics and critical care medicine,UAMS College of Medicine.4