Process Improvement to Reduce Route of Medication Administration Errors in Patients with Enteral Feeding Tubes

Advances in health information management in the form electronic health records, computerized provider order entry systems, and clinical decision support systems and tools have enhanced the productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency of healthcare. However, the cost of these positive effects does come at the expense of other factors. Along with the introduction of Clinical Provider Order Entry (CPOE) systems, organizations have experienced new possibilities for medication errors and risks to patient safety. Factors associated with these errors should be evaluated in detail in order to mitigate the causes of these types of errors and to plan strategies for prevention. Continued research into how to improve the quality of these systems is necessary to promote the usability and acceptance of CPOE systems by prescribers and to continue to make an impact on the frequency of medication errors within health care organizations. Health care organizations must develop strategies to improve the rate of medication errors caused by CPOE systems. Strategies may vary from organization to organization, and depend upon organization-specific resources. Ideally, a plan to improve patient safety and prevent errors related to CPOE systems would include stakeholders such as the clinical team and providers, involve a system that can audit the frequency of errors, and include ongoing education about the problem and the proposed solution. A plan to prevent errors and improve patient safety that is not-dependent upon the intricacies of a specific electronic medical record is ideal. A strategy that can carry-over from one electronic medical record system to the next and that can address the central problem with accuracy, efficiency, and evidence-based research will be proposed