“How much is a life worth?”, wonders Doctor Cáceres, reflecting on the investment required for technological administration of medications.
At the 8th HIBA Academic Congress 2013, Nora Cáceres, the head of the Pharmacy Service at the Hospital Italiano; Mariano Abitbol, the head of Health Development at GS1 Argentina; and Estela Izquierdo, Head and Technical Director of the Pharmacy Service at the Sanatorio Güemes, took part in the panel on “Medication Traceability”, coordinated by Damián Borbolla, Head of the Clinical Informatics Department at the Hospital Italiano.
The National Medication Traceability System (SNT)
“The chances of committing errors without technology are very high”, said Mario Abitbol, regarding the prescription of medications. And he added: “In Argentina the distribution chain is very complex”.
He also alluded to the SNT and the development that is being implemented in the country: “As a patient, I’m happy that there is such a well-defined process for product traceability”.
According to Estela Izquierdo, the implementation of medication traceability requires teamwork. “The SNT makes it possible to establish transparency and have better protection. It is something that is very good for the patient, and something we are all working toward”, she said.
She also said that the Sanatorio Güemes is already discussing internal traceability to create different controls before implementing the governmental system, and explained that the fundamental stages in the traceability process are: reception, storage, repackaging, distribution, dispensation and administration.
Damián Borbolla explained how medications are monitored at the Hospital Italiano in Buenos Aires. “We carried out a study to determine the most suitable device for nurses to use to record medications in the optimal manner”, he said. It was found that the use of bracelets and medications with codes and readers – plus staff training – is key for the administration of medications. In this regard, he emphasized: “Administration at the patient’s bedside reduces errors by 50%”.
Terminological Representation of Pharmacological Supplies
“We are seeking to ensure patient safety and quality of care”, said Doctor Santiago Wassermann, Head of the Clinical Informatics Department at the Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires, at the beginning of the speech “Terminological representation of pharmacological supplies” at HIBA 2013.
During the talk, the Doctor spoke about terminological control of medications and the electronic prescription system (SPE), which – according to data from medical literature – prevents serious medication errors by 55%. “It was necessary to create a new interface vocabulary to make the vocabulary used by commercial products and that used by doctors during prescriptions and dosage compatible.”
Wassermann said that the SPE at the Hospital Italiano is based on pharmacological information from unstructured data, laboratory information, pharmacists, institutions and manuals such as Kairos, which are based on commercial products.
Finally, he emphasized that there is still no regulatory framework on how to distribute this information, whose main source comes from laboratories.
