IntelliDOT Solution to Eliminate Medication Mistakes at North Carolina Hospital

By Raju Shanbhag

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Seeking to bolster patient safety, the Halifax Regional Medical Center, a 206-bed hospital in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, reportedly has implemented IntelliDOT Bedside Medication Administration.

 

The move will include integration with the hospital’s existing MEDITECH Client/Server Healthcare Information System, officials say.

 

With the help of a Quovadx (News - Alert) Cloverleaf interface engine, IntelliDOT BMA communicates with the hospital’s MEDITECH HIS at Halifax Regional. MEDITECH passes admissions, discharges, transfers and Pharmacy Encoded Orders through a HL7 interface, which is sent wirelessly to IntelliDOT handhelds carried by nurses. After the nurses complete medication administration at bedside, this is documented on the electronic medication administration record. As part of its full patient documentation, Halifax is currently using the IntelliDOT eMAR.

 

IntelliDOT BMA is the first wireless, nurse-centric workflow manager to connect caregivers with the information systems they need at the point-of-care as this is an integrated module of the IntelliDOT CAREt System.

 

With IntelliDOT BMA, medication errors are expected to disappear, as the technology matches the correct patient with the correct medication and method of delivery at the bedside. The medication administration system can expand the bedside safety net to vital signs collection, laboratory specimen collection, mother-baby breast milk matching and blood product administration, by connecting with any HIS or Laboratory Information System.

 

Now, officials say, the hospital can complete all bedside medication administration functions with a small handheld device – as opposed to the more common large and cumbersome solutions commonly referred to as Computers on Wheels. For example, key clinical information like vital signs are documented by the nurse using the CAREt handheld as part of the administration process, which saves time and effort.

 

“Because it has been designed by nurses for nurses, the IntelliDOT barcode point-of-care system has achieved the highest adoption rates in the industry, averaging over 95 percent for typical customers,” said Thomas G. Klopack, President and CEO of IntelliDOT. “Combined with its small, light form factor, ability to be easily cleaned and disinfected, 12+ hour battery life and ability to communicate with any HIS, the IntelliDOT CAREt system truly represents the next generation of barcode point-of-care at the bedside.”