BAR CODE

MEDICATION
ADMINISTRATION
 PICO QUESTION
Population: Nurses not scanning medications properly,

Intervention: teaching nurses regarding importance of

scanning medications

Comparison: Percentage of nurses scanning medications in

the unit

Outcome: Scanning medications contributes to patient

safety and decreasing medication errors
An electronic barcode medication administration system was successfully implemented in the
acute care and long-term care sections of a 118-bed Veterans Administration hospital
beginning in February 2000. Known as Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA), the
software was designed to improve medication administration accuracy and to generate online
patient medication records.
The application was created by the Eastern Kansas Health Care System and the Colmery-
O’Neil VA Medical Center, and was modified to meet the general requirements of all U.S.
Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical centers. The nationally implemented Barcode
Medication Administration software enables users to document electronically the
administration of medications at the bedside, or where other points of care are involved.
Barcode technology and real time network connectivity are used to improve the accuracy of
medication administration.
 BAR CODES AND BAR CODE
READERS
• 1D Bar Codes
• Come on most packages
• 2D Bar Codes
• Becoming more popular on UD packaging
• Fixed readers
• Connected to PC (USB recommended)
• COWs
• Portable Batch
• Portable RF
• Recommend for Isolation rooms
IMPORTANCE OF BCMA

• Barcode medication administration (BCMA) and electronic medication administration record

(eMAR) technologies are two ways to improve inpatient medication safety by automating the
process of medication checking, and making the medication administration record electronic.
Research has demonstrated successful reductions in the rate of medication administration and
dispensing errors after the implementation of barcoding systems, especially when the
barcodes are affixed to medications at the level of the unit-dose.
 BCMA
• BCMA is used to record administration of medications
• But it also provides functions such as:
o Meds Due List
o Variance Log (e.g. med errors)
o Med Admin History
o PRN Effectiveness tracking
o Missed Medications
o Request missing Med from Pharmacy
o Medication interaction and side effects
• According to the website, “BCMA Helping to Maintain 95% Compliance in
Medication Administration.” it was stated that “ the main goal of BCMA is to reduce
medication errors by providing additional safeguards for staff to better protect
patients from transcription, dispensing and administration errors through positive
patient and medication identification.” ( Walton, 2015)

• As it was mentioned scanning can really help to decrease medication errors, but is
essential that we use it properly. The BCMA helps with the 5 Rights (right patient,
right drug, right dose, right time & right route). We should scan first our medications
and then give it to the patient. Many nurses tend to forget, and it can impact the
quality of care in a negative way if we don’t do it properly, “BCMA systems are
potentially effective in reducing administration errors when designed well and used
correctly” (Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, 2013)
 Every year experts work to make the system more efficient but still, some medications
can not be scanned, for example “Genvoya” is a medication that patients with HIV take,
but is a medication that can not be scanned.
STATISTICS
REFERENCES
Walton, Sally, Director of Nursing Technology and innovation BCMA Helping to Maintain 95% Compliance in
Medication Administration. (2015, July 20). Retrieved from https://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2015/06/23/bcma-
helping-to-maintain-95-compliance-in-medication-administration/

Centre for Health Systems and Safety Research, Evidence Briefings on Interventions to Improve Medication
Safety “Barcode Medicatication Admisnitration Systems”Retrieved from:
https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Evidence-briefings-on-interventions-to-
improve-medication-safety-Bar-code-administration-systems-PDF-620KB.pdf