Medication administration errors occurs 34 percent more often than any other preventable error. These errors directly impact patient safety. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), there are approximately one million patients harmed in hospitals across the United States. Studies support barcode scanning medication during medication administration can prevent this type of medication error (Marx, K., Stoudenmire, L.L., & Manasco, K.B., 2013). It is report that barcode medication administration (BCMA) may reduce medication administration errors by 86 percent (Gooder, V., 2012). North Kansas City Hospital has adopted a BCMA scanning program to reduce the risk of patient harm. Hospital policy is to: Documentation of medication administration will be performed via barcode scan of: 1. The administering caregiver’s …show more content…
Clinical nurses were recognized as an initiative to improve BCMA rates during staff meetings in October 2015. The clinical nurse with the best BCMA rate received an award ribbon and recognition during staff meeting. During the staff meeting in November 2015, scanning rates for October were reported. The number of clinical nurses with BCMA rates below 80 percent dropped to 11. Again, in December 2015, the clinical nurse with the best scanning rate was recognized. As an added incentive to increase BCMA rates, a five dollar gift care was included in the recognition award. This took place the last week of December 2015 during a staff meeting. A second intervention was implemented in February 2016. All nursing staff with a scanning rate above 90 percent received a positive email from their director reporting their scanning rate and thanking them for doing an awesome job. Clinical nurses with BCMA rates below 80 percent were also sent an email encouraging them to