To reduce errors, Ogdensburg hospital switches to barcode system

OGDENSBURG — Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center has an unlikely new tool for saving patients’ lives, but it isn’t a piece of surgical equipment. It isn’t a new drug, and it isn’t a new procedure.

Instead, the hospital is using something familiar to anyone who has bought groceries: the bar code.

In an effort to prevent dangerous errors, the hospital is changing its identification bracelets to include bar codes.

Gregory G. Guimond, the hospital’s director of pharmacy services, said it will help make sure the correct medication is given to the right patient.

“In the order process, you have checks and balances in the health care system,” Mr. Guimond said. “The physician writes the order, a pharmacist verifies it and dispenses it and the nurse checks to make sure it is the right medication. Right now, when the nurse goes to give it to the patient, there is nothing making sure that the check is there for the nurse.”

“It is all based on human error right now, and skill,” said Janice Rogers, the project manager for the transition to the new bracelets. “Our best efforts are normally very good, but there is always a chance for error, and we’re trying to minimize that.”

Mr. Guimond said medication errors are rare, but the hospital has had problems before.

“It hasn’t been a real problem, but as with any human process, there are occasional errors that happen,” he said. “The largest error comes upon administration by the nurse.”

If an error occurs, a patient could be given an overdose or a drug to which he is allergic.

“The severity of the outcome for a patient is based on the actual medication,” Ms. Rogers said. “We are trying to close the loopholes so that there are no areas of breakdown.”

Ms. Rogers said the hospital will be ready to go live with the new bracelets in two weeks.

“We’re going live first with three units in a phased-in approach,” she said. “We’ll start with obstetrics, acute rehabilitation and the intensive care unit.”

Ms. Rogers said the bracelets will be used in other areas of the hospital, starting with medical and surgical nursing care units on Feb. 13.