Download OVMC Announces Bedside Medication Verification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Shayna Varner at (304) 234-8135 or [email protected]
OVMC Announces Bedside Medication Verification System
WHEELING—OVMC is proud to announce the implementation of Bedside Medication
Verification (BMV), an electronic bar code scanning identification system for
medications, to provide quality patient care and efficient medication management at
Ohio Valley Medical Center, making it the first of its kind in the Ohio Valley.
“Fewer than 20 percent of hospitals nationwide are using this technology and we are
proud OVMC is leading the charge in the Wheeling area,” said Patsy George, RN and
Director of Nursing at OVMC. “We are using this technology in all of our nursing units
throughout the hospital. This truly demonstrates our commitment to ensuring our
patients receive the best possible care while at OVMC.”
The new technology enhances safe medication administration through the “five
rights” of medication management: right patient, right medication, right dosage, right
route, and right time. During the medication administration process, caregivers scan
bar codes on patient wristbands to provide a positive patient identification that
allows the caregiver to view the proper medications for that particular patient.
Through BMV technology, caregivers are able to view critical patient information
including the medication’s order and dose instructions, a medication’s scheduled
administration, and any known patient medication allergies. This process increases
accuracy and efficiency when administering medications, providing caregivers faster
and easier access to critical information to manage patient care.
A nationwide study by the Institute of Medicine estimates medication errors are
responsible for 7,000 patient deaths and injure at least 1.5 million a year, with nearly
one-third of those errors occurring in hospitals. On a national average, a
hospitalized patient is subject to one medication mistake a day. The use of bar code
technology to confirm patient identity and medication orders has been shown to
reduce medication errors by nearly 70 percent.
“With the implementation of bedside medication verification hospital-wide, we are
coming even closer in our quest to become an error-free institution,” said Jan
Jennings, OVMC’s interim President and CEO. “This technology is a big deal to the
Ohio Valley. There are research hospitals across the country who have yet to adopt
this type of technology.”
Ohio Valley Medical Center, located in Wheeling West Virginia, and East Ohio
Regional Hospital, located in Martins Ferry Ohio, are a 340 bed combined
organization providing quality primary and tertiary healthcare to the Ohio Valley.
CAPTION: Nurses on all OVMC nursing units are now using the bedside
medication verification technology to accurately track vital patient medication
information. Pictured are: Dawn Zoladz, RN; Erica Wellman, RN; and Christina
Harris, RN.