(AHRQ: Rockville, Maryland) -- Using bar-code technology with an electronic medication administration record (eMAR) substantially reduces transcription and medication administration errors, as well as potential drug-related adverse events, says a new study funded by the Department of Health & Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The study was published in the May 6 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Bar-code eMAR is a combination of technologies that ensures that the correct medication is administered in the correct dose at the correct time to the correct patient. When nurses use this combination of technologies, medication orders appear electronically in a patient's chart after pharmacist approval. Alerts are sent to nurses electronically if a patient's medication is overdue. Before administering medication, nurses are required to scan the bar codes on the patient's wristband and then on the medication. If the two don't match the approved medication order, or it is not time for the patient's next dose, the system issues a warning.

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