Abstract
This study investigates the influence of a combined authentication system and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system in regard to quality and quantity of near-miss reports in administering medications. The authentication system scanned bar codes of pre-packaged drugs, patients' identification bands and medical stuff name card prior to the administration of the drugs. The intake of oral medicines, on the other hand, was confirmed by watching the administration on a computer screen.
As a result, after the introduction of the authentication system the ratio of the near-miss reports for medication injections decreased, whereas the ratio for oral medication administration increased. The ratio of incident to accident reports didn't change for the oral administration, but increased for the injecting administration. For administrating medication the ratio was reduced the most in the process of information transmission from prescribing doctors to the pharmacy, because by using the CPOE system compared to human action human error was minimized.
The authentication system, especially combined with the CPOE system, has strengthened detection of the occurrence of errors in medication administering. It contributes to the improvement of the safety in medical treatment.
