Mobile Devices Can Reduce Medication Errors in Nursing Homes

Medication errors are almost always preventable and due to malpractice.  Drug manufacturers give new medications names that are easily confused with existing medications.  Pharmacies incorrectly fill prescriptions.  Doctors make prescribing errors.  Nurses fail to properly administer medications.  Certainly no one is perfect and it is easy to understand how a mistakes can happen just due to the sheer volume of medications that are being administered.  However, the consequences of medication errors can be dire and all possible efforts should be made to eliminate medication errors.

In hospitals it is commonplace for doctors to use their smart phones to access databases to prevent medication errors.  Unfortunately this is less common in nursing homes.  A new study has found that using mobile devices as part of a medication management program can significantly reduce medication errors. The study found that doctors who use mobile devices are more likely to catch themselves making a medication error before a patient is harmed.  Sometimes the simple things can make all the difference in the world.