Authors (including presenting author) :
Nicky H. C. Li (1), Pauline L. M. Chu (1), Josephine L. Yung (1), Alan T. F. Ng (1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Pharmacy, Tuen Mun Hospital
Introduction :
Oral liquid medications are at high risk of dispensing error as many different drugs have similar colors and appearance. It is also difficult to distinguish the look-alike drugs once they are transferred into amber bottles after dispensing. Although cross-checking procedures have been implemented in the routine dispensing of oral liquid medications to reduce the risk, such practice cannot prevent all human error especially in high workload and multi-tasking situation. In recent years, it is increasingly common for commercial drug products to have barcodes, such as Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), on the outer packaging and product label. These barcodes may serve as a unique identifier of the item, which offer an opportunity for computerized drug checking. This project studied the use of barcode technology for cross-checking the identity of oral liquid medications to minimize human error and improve medication safety in drug dispensing.
Objectives :
(1) To improve medication safety in dispensing oral liquid medications, and (2) to enhance operational efficiency by using a computerized system and barcode technology for drug checking.
Methodology :
A database of product barcodes of various oral liquid medications in Tuen Mun Hospital (TMH) was prepared and a software based on Microsoft Excel was developed for performing barcode matching and drug checking. The system was set up in Main Pharmacy and Ambulatory Care Centre Pharmacy in TMH for supporting both in-patient and out-patient drug dispensing. When dispensing oral liquid medications, pharmacy staff had to scan the barcode on the drug dispensing label and the commercial product label. If the product barcode matches with the dispensing drug details, a verification label will be printed out. Otherwise, a warning message will be shown to alert staff about the potential dispensing error.
Result & Outcome :
As at December 2021, the system could support drug checking for 60% of the oral liquid medications that were available in TMH and over 300 dispensed items had been checked by the system over the past half year. The system was generally user-friendly and welcomed by our dispensing staff. Other application of the barcode matching system in pharmacy, such as for cross-checking peritoneal dialysis fluid, will be explored to further enhance medication safety in the coming future.
