Medication Safety Tips for Seniors with Diabetes

Insulin and medications are important aspects of Diabetes management. However, older adults suffering from Diabetes, particularly if they have mental or physical limitations, managing medications can be challenging. In such situations, the role of caregivers becomes important. If you are working at a care home where you are responsible to take care of residents suffering from Diabetes, here are some medication safety tips that you will find helpful:

Maintain a complete record of all the medications and supplements: As a caregiver, you have to maintain a list of all the active medications. This should include over-the-counter medications and herbal or nutritional supplements that the resident is taking. Seniors with diabetes often consult many health providers for different problems. A record of medication will help different doctors avoid potential interactions with prescription drugs or duplication of medications.

2. Know how drugs work and what are their potential side effects: You should develop a habit of explicitly asking residents how they feel after medication. This is particularly important when there is a change in the medication – whether it is a change in the dosage or medication time or any other change related to medicines. Being aware of potential side effects of medication can help you seek early medical intervention for the resident.

3. Keep monitoring blood sugar levels: Older adults with diabetes are often at a higher risk for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which can cause

Fatigue
Shakiness
Anxiety
Sweating
Hunger
Irritability

Seek the consulting GP to get advice on how frequently the glucose level should be checked as the frequency may vary from one person to another.

4. Give medications in the right dose and at the right time: For medications to be safe and effective, they must be taken in the correct dose, at a specific time and for a specific length of time. Some drugs have window-periods during which another dose should be given to ensure that medication works. The interval advised by the doctor should be maintained. Always check the concentration of the medication before administering it. Incorrect dosage due to error in calculation or confusion in conversion units can lead to side effects and in some cases, it can be life-threatening.

eMAR chart and care homes: How can the software help you manage medication for Diabetics?

Helping residents control their blood glucose levels requires round-the-clock commitment. By streamlining medication administration processes at care homes, eMAR reduces medication errors and helps the caregiving staff focus on other important factors such as planning Diabetes-friendly recipes and age-appropriate exercise plans for the residents. Many care homes in the UK are switching from MAR charts to electronic MAR. The eMAR charts will help you digitally maintain the records of the residents. Also, it sends reminders before each medication round, so that the resident gets the right medicine at the right time. With eMAR charts, making monthly, quarterly and annual reports are also easy. To know more benefits of implementing eMAR, book a demo today.

Safety Tips for New Nurses

When it comes to healthcare, there are no two ways that patient safety should be a top priority at all times. However, due to different factors such as lack of knowledge or training, work pressure, distractions or interruptions during work, nurses may put themselves or the patients in an unsafe situation inadvertently.

If you are new to nursing and still learning the ropes, here is a useful read that promotes patient safety and your safety too:

Learn to lift patients properly: Use safe patient handling techniques. Also, if needed seek help from others or use a mechanical assist device that ensures patient safety and reduces the compression strain on the spine.
Be careful with sharp objects and hazardous body fluids: Always follow safety protocols to reduce the risk of blood/body fluid exposure and needlestick/sharp injury.
Store medications and supplies carefully: Always store medicines and supplies as per the instructions mentioned on the packaging. Store them in safe and proper places so that unauthorised persons do not have access to medications or supplies.
Follow the 8 Rs while administering medication: If administering medication, check and double-check that the medication, dosage, and patient are correct before moving forward. Even a small error can have life-threatening consequences. Here we have rounded 8 Rs of medication administration that can help administer medication effectively:

Right patient
Right medication
Right dose
Right route
Right time
Right documentation
Right response
Right to refuse

Benefits of using eMAR charts in medication administration

eMAR charts or electronic medication administration records are the electronic versions of MAR nursing charts previously used in many healthcare facilities in the UK. Many nursing facilities are now switching to eMAR as it allows nurses to access all information about residents before administering medication.

eMAR sends alerts to nurses before medication rounds – it ensures no dosage is missed.
It can be linked directly to pharmacy software, submitting an order for a new prescription.
eMAR serves as a route of communication among nurses, supervisors and doctors in the facility.
Only authorised persons can access eMAR, making it safer than paper MAR charts.
eMAR charts can be accessed remotely

To know more about the benefits of eMAR in the healthcare setting, book a demo today.

Call for help if and when needed: As a nurse, you must understand the policies regarding dealing with combative or threatening patients. If you think that the situation at hand is not under your control, you should immediately call for help.
Make sure that the patient’s room is clean: If there are any spills, get the housekeeping team to clean them immediately. Make sure that the patients avoid the area until it is cleaned.
Get a better understanding of emergency procedures: You should know whom to inform in case of an emergency. Make sure you understand all procedures and protocols. For instance, you should know the best ways to exit the building in case of an emergency.
Practice proper hand hygiene: In a rush to get things done quickly, never overlook hand hygiene. Always wash hands after interacting with different patients. Disinfect gloves and other safety gear after contact with hazardous substances.
Wear a face mask: Use a mask when caring for and working with patients who may have contagious conditions or unknown illness.
Do not ignore burnout signs: It is common for nursing staff to feel physically and mentally exhausted when they are doing the same job day in and day out. If you feel overly exhausted, consult your supervisor and ask for backup. Exhaustion can often result in medication errors that may compromise patient safety.

What are Prescribing Errors: Useful Insights for Caregivers

Medication errors at care homes are one of the most common causes of harm – and one of the most common causes of medical errors is prescribing errors. Here is a useful read for caregivers on prescribing errors and how can they be prevented:

Common prescribing errors: How does the eMAR medication system help?

Prescribing is the process whereby a doctor or registered health professional authorises the use of certain medications for a resident. The prescription includes the name of the medicines to be given and instructions about how and when those medicines should be used. Prescribing errors can take many forms. Some common prescribing errors include:

Incorrect doses: One of the most common prescription errors is giving the right medication but in the wrong dose or via the wrong route. While administering a dose lesser than what is prescribed can make the treatment less effective, overdosing can lead to severe symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and rashes. In some cases, overdosing can be life-threatening. This prescribing error can happen under different circumstances – In order to save time, caregivers may not check the MAR sheets thoroughly or inadequate communication between caregivers can lead to overdose or missed doses.

How can eMAR help?

Using an e-prescribing system such as eMAR medication system can help enhance patient safety and reduce medical errors. The eMAR medication system provides all the information that is needed to administer the medication. Caregivers do not have to go through piles of MAR sheets to cull out information about each patient. Alerts and prompts can ensure that no dosage is missed. The real-time updation of the eMAR system ensures that different caregivers are aware that the medication has been administered.

Wrong route: Administering a medication through the wrong route is another common prescribing error. Some medications are administered orally while others are given intravenously (by IV , intrathecally (into the spinal cord) or topically. When caregivers due to lack of training, knowledge or even time administer a medicine via a route different than the intended route, it can cause serious side effects, sometimes even long-term effects.

How can eMAR help?

eMAR lets caregivers access all the important information related to the resident and his/her medication with a few clicks. With eMAR, caregivers can easily verify the prescribed route – it is less time consuming than going through a bunch of MAR sheets manually.

Illegible details: Prescribing errors can also result from illegible handwriting. An error due to illegible handwriting can occur at either the prescription stage or at the transcription stage. Illegible handwriting thus creates confusion for caregivers who may either administer the wrong drug that has similar spelling.

How can eMAR help?

eMAR medication system aims to reduce medication errors related to handwriting and transcription. eMAR allows doctors to write directly on a drug chart rather than on a piece of paper which is then transcribed by someone else. This also reduces delay in accessing medication and allows caregivers to order medication on-site. This simplifies the inventory process too.

To avoid medication errors in care homes, caregivers are advised to follow 8 Rs of medication administration.

From MAR sheets in care homes to eMAR in care homes – make the change today

If you are planning to implement eMAR at your care home, book a demo. All demos can be

provided remotely. We can also provide eMAR training to your staff.

How to Take an Accurate Medication History?

Preventing adverse drug events remains a top resident safety priority not only in hospitals but also across all healthcare settings such as nursing homes and care homes. There are many reasons why medication errors occur and one of the most common reasons is caregivers not having accurate medication history of residents at care homes. Without an accurate medication history, doctors may inadvertently make incorrect decisions about a resident’s health. When caregivers accurately obtain a resident’s medication history, they can prevent medication errors such as omissions, duplications, dosing errors or drug interactions.

Here are some ways to take an accurate medication history:

Consult the resident or resident’s family

A resident should always be consulted at the time of recording medication history. If a resident is not in a condition to furnish information (for instance, they are unconscious or have a learning disability), the resident’s family may be consulted instead. The information provided must always be confirmed by a second source like a previous caregiver or doctor.

Note the use of herbal medicines and supplements

While interacting with residents or their families, information related to herbal supplements, dietary supplements and over-the-counter drugs should be obtained and duly noted. Often residents take herbal supplements without the knowledge of their doctors. These supplements may also cause ADRs or interact with medicines that doctors may prescribe in future. Although some residents may not consider these as medicines, the information regarding these medications is important for resident safety.

Check the GP list of medications

The GP of residents can provide medicine lists and information on medicines. However, these lists only detail what the GP has prescribed the resident and this may not reflect what the resident is taking. When seeking medication information from the GP, it is appropriate to obtain a written copy of the medication summary. If a resident has recently been in hospital or received treatment, you will have to consult the hospital for more recent information.

Previous discharge documents should be checked

Previous discharge documents may help if a resident has been discharged from the hospital recently. Do note any changes made to their medications since discharge from the hospital.

Review MAR sheets from previous care homes

If a resident is moving into a new facility from a residential home, MAR sheets should be reviewed thoroughly. MAR sheets will help new caregivers identify medicines recently started, discontinued, refused or omitted. Extra caution should be taken to review paper-based MAR sheets as handwritten notes and changes can be either difficult to understand or can create confusion with regards to abbreviations or same sounding drugs.

When should medication history be reviewed?

Whenever there is a change in care in which new medications are prescribed or existing prescriptions are changed. Changes in care setting, service, or level of care warrant that medication documents be reviewed and updated.

Use electronic medication administration systems to record medication history

Many care homes in the UK use electronic medication administration systems such as eMAR to facilitate the process of medication order entry. A perfect alternative to existing paper-based MAR charts, eMAR help in documenting all current medicines prescribed to the residents. Not just that, eMAR allows caregivers to order medications and make notes regarding tests and procedures ordered by doctors, and provide other instructions related to the residents under their care.

How eMAR can help your care home reduce potential medication errors

No scope of confusion due to illegible handwriting
eMAR can be integrated with the pharmacy so no missed dosage due to inadequate stock.
No missed dosage as real-time alerts notifies caregivers when medication is due.
No communication gaps as caregivers, supervisors and other stakeholders can access electronic MAR sheets on a real-time basis and that too without being physically present in the care homes.
No communication gaps due to missed signatures as the electronic system will alert continually when medicines have not been administered at the correct time.

Meal Planning Tips for Caregivers

The key role of any care home setting is to provide healthy menu options to its residents. With residents having a range of dietary needs and specific health concerns, meal planning can be a little challenging for the caregivers. While proper nutrition is vital for every age and gender, maintaining a healthy meal plan for residents coping with chronic conditions can be complicated.

As a caregiver, you should ensure that residents have meals that fulfil their nutritional needs as per their age, gender and medical condition.

Here are a few meal planning tips for caregivers:

Make a list: Plan the menu for the coming week or month. You can also download meal planning templates and use them to plan for the whole week.
Assess the needs of the residents: As a caregiver, keep a close check on all the food preferences, food restrictions and food allergies of the residents. Assess the residents’ need for vitamins, minerals and proteins in their diet. Consult a registered dietician to ensure the menu is nutritionally balanced.
Add new dishes to the menu: Eating the same food can make mealtimes dull for residents. Make their taste buds excited by adding new, healthy dishes to the menu. For instance, a new salad can make lunch a bit more interesting.
Keep healthy snacks handy: As fruits have plenty of water and vitamins, they are the best way to start off a resident’s day. Keep fresh fruits in places that are easy to access.
Make sure the residents are hydrated: Staying hydrated is important. Ensure residents drink sufficient water in between their meals. This helps in building their appetite. The residents should be limited from drinking too much at a meal, as it can replace vital nutrients from dense foods.
Serve foods with high water content: Consider serving food with high water content to the residents. For instance, fruits such as watermelons, strawberries and peaches, are water-rich. These fruits are easy to chew. For individual concerns, you must seek a doctor’s recommendation.

How to ensure person-centered care?

In addition to meal planning, as a caregiver you have other important responsibilities – one of them is medication administration. As a caregiver, you must take steps to reduce the risk of medication errors by ensuring that the right medication is administered to the right patient at the right time.

Note: By following the 8Rs of medication administration, you can reduce the chances of medication errors.

The 8Rs of medication administration are:

Right patient
Right medication
Right dose
Right route
Right time
Right documentation
Right response
Right to refuse

To reduce medication errors, shift from paper-based MAR charts to eMAR

Accessing information on paper-based MAR charts is not just time-consuming but also prone to errors due to illegible handwriting and overwriting. Many care homes in the UK have shifted to eMAR nursing charts. The electronic version of the charts reduces the paperwork. These electronic charts give easy access to all medical information of residents.

Know more about eMAR and eMAR training

Know the benefits of implementing eMAR here. We provide eMAR chart training to caregivers and others involved in caregiving. Should you decide to proceed, all training and setup can also be implemented remotely for you. Book a demo today

4 Ways Caregivers Can Better Manage Their Time

Caregiving is a challenging and rewarding career. As a caregiver, you need to be emotionally understanding, patient, detail-oriented and cooperative. The day-to-day tasks of a caregiver can sometimes feel overwhelming. However, by being more organised, you can accomplish more within the limited time that you have.

Here we share with you 4 ways you can manage your time better:

Prioritise your ‘to-do’ list: As a caregiver, you should always plan ahead. Preparing your day’s to-do list helps in keeping you organised and productive throughout the day. However, a long to-do list can be overwhelming. Therefore, prioritise your to-do activities. Keep the must-do activities in the first column. Reserve the second column for less important things. Focus on completing important tasks first, then move on to others. Always leave room for unexpected events.
Get organised: Environmental chaos can drain your physical and mental energy. Searching for a thing when you need it the most not just wastes time but can be frustrating. Keep your workspace clean. With an organised work environment, you can get more work done throughout the day. Note: It is important to get organised when it comes to medication administration. As a caregiver, you are responsible to administer the correct medication to the right patient at the right time. To make medication administration organised, MAR charts are used — however, paper-based MAR charts need to be filled in and checked manually. For culling out any information, caregivers have to sift through piles of papers. They have to manually prepare the monthly and quarterly reports for audits.
Instead of paper-based MAR sheets, shift to eMAR: MAR sheets are medical administration records. These sheets carry all the information required to effectively administer medication. Many of the care homes in the UK have switched to eMAR healthcare charts. eMAR charts in medication ensure safe medication administration at care homes. eMAR reduces medication errors occurring due to several factors such as –– Poor handwriting – Ambiguous abbreviation — Confusing verbal instructions. With a few clicks eMAR charts will give you all the information needed for medication administration. Not just that, it will also send you alerts when the medications are due, ensuring that no dose is missed. With the electronic system, making monthly and quarterly reports become easy and less time-consuming.
Get help when needed: The demands of caregiving can be exhausting and overwhelming. If you find yourself too overburned or stressed out, it’s good to ask for help from other team members. If you will not care for yourself, caregiving stress can take a toll on your well-being which may affect the quality of care that you offer to the residents.

Retaining your Staff: Tips for Care Home Managers

A care home is as good as the caregiving team it has. It is the caregiving staff that residents interact with on a daily basis. These interactions determine the degree of satisfaction and comfort of residents in a care home. As there is a huge demand for skilled and experienced caregivers, it is important that care home facilities take steps to retain the right talent to offer the best quality care possible to their residents.

Here are a few steps that you as a care home manager can take to retain talented staff:

Review the induction process: Do not treat the induction or onboarding process as a formality. Use this opportunity to make the new recruits familiar with your care home setting. It is also the best time to share the organisational goals and values.
Review caregiver performance regularly: Conduct frequent meetings with the caregivers. Check whether they are coping with their workload and workplace. Ask them whether they are facing issues while dealing with the residents and also get their feedback on the current work process.
Recognise good work and give constant feedback: Regular feedback helps in boosting the morale of the employees. If the caregivers are doing a good job, do not hesitate to praise them. Give the employees constructive feedback if they are struggling with something.
Support development of the staff: Provide learning opportunities through suitable training, seminars, coaching and workshops to caregivers for their professional development. Giving your employees a path for progression is a key to make them stay for the long term.
Understand the reason behind why employees leave: Find out the reasons behind why employees are leaving. This can be done through exit interviews, surveys, questionnaires and group meetings. These can help you identify problematic areas and take appropriate action.
Create an environment where people want to stay: Caregivers want to work in a setting that appreciates person-centered care and genuinely believes in employee well-being. Consider these factors and make changes, if required.
Streamline processes: By streamlining daily work, you can help care workers focus on person-centred care. One such area is medication administration which requires a lot of paperwork daily – caregivers have to manually fill in all the information and prepare reports for audit. This takes time and effort. By implementing electronic MAR charts, you can reduce the paperwork and streamline the process associated with MAR chart medication. Electronic MAR charts give caregivers easy access to information that they need at the time of medication round. Making monthly, quarterly and annual reports is easy with eMAR.

eMAR charts are a reliable way to reduce or eliminate medication errors. Unlike paper-based MAR charts, eMAR reduces the errors occurring due to factors such as :

Illegible handwriting
Confusing verbal instruction
Ambiguous use of abbreviations

eMAR sheets further give easy access to all the necessary information while administering medications. Not just that, these sheets can be accessed from anywhere at any time. Only authorised persons can have access making the system secure.

Note: For care home managers

To know how eMAR can help your care home, book a demo today.

What can you do to prevent or relieve caregiver stress?

The demands of caregiving can be exhausting and overwhelming. If you are a care home manager, you need to recognise the signs of caregiver stress, so you can take steps to help your caregiving staff:

Signs that your caregiving staff is under stress:

Feeling tired
Changes in appetite
Losing interest in activities they once enjoyed
Difficulty sleeping
Difficulty concentrating

Here are a few ways you can help your caregiving staff deal with stress

Encourage your caregiving staff to stay healthy

As a care home manager, you can take initiatives where healthy eating options for staff members. If there’s a gym inside the care home, staff should be encouraged to use it.

Manage leave requests in advance

It is a proven fact that stressed-out employees are not the most efficient employees. To help your caregiving staff feel good about their work and life in general, plan breaks for them at regular intervals so that they don’t overwork themselves. This time-off will help them to explore new things and indulge in hobbies that make them happy.

Switch to eMAR and reduce excessive paperwork

Switching to an electronic medication administration record such as eMAR can help you reduce the workload of caregivers. Working on conventional paper MAR charts for documenting medication administration requires a lot of time and effort. To pull out a single piece of information, they have to skim through piles of papers manually. With eMAR, caregivers can work seamlessly in recording and processing important information on a patient’s history. The electronic medication administration record software helps caregivers by:

Sending real-time alerts to caregivers when the medicines are due.
Eliminating confusion that is often caused due to illegible notes or missed signatures
Giving easy and quick access to all the resident information
Preparing month-end reports without paperwork
Allowing better coordination between caregiving staff members

Make them feel comfortable

It is common to feel overwhelmed while caregiving. Your caregiving staff may feel stressed out but hesitate to ask for help. Be in touch with your team and regularly talk to them. Look for any signs of grievance, negativity, and emotional turmoil and address them properly.

Organise meditation sessions

Meditation can be immensely helpful in relieving stress. Organise meditation sessions that help caregivers learn deep breathing exercises and relaxation techniques.

Encourage social interaction

Caregiving can be emotionally draining. However, taking part in fun activities can create a positive ambience. Celebrating staff birthdays or other group events such as a potluck, musical sessions and picnics will keep caregivers stay connected.

5 useful insights on medication errors

A medication error is defined as “a failure in the treatment process that leads to, or has the potential to lead to, harm to the patient.” A medication error can result in missed dosage, making the treatment less effective or overdose, causing mild to life-threatening side effects. It is, free, important to detect medication errors.

To prevent or reduce the likelihood of medication errors, it is important to adhere to the safe medication practices, called the 6 Rights of medication administration. The six rights of medication use: right – patient, drug, dose, time, route, and documentation. A MAR chart is a formal record of a resident’s medication and administration of drugs. However, more and more care homes in the UK are replacing paper-based MAR charts with electronic mar charts. eMAR system ensures safe medication administration at care homes or healthcare facilities.

If the care home you are running plans to adopt eMAR, read these five useful insights on medication errors:

1. Following ‘Six Rs’ can help reduce medication errors

If a caregiver follows the six rights correctly while drug administration, there are very low chances of medication errors. The six rights are:

Right patient
Right drug
Right dose
Right time
Right route
Right documentation

A medication error occurs when:

The wrong drug is administered to the patient.
The drug is administered via an incorrect route.
The drug is given at an incorrect time.
The details of the patient are verified at the time of administering the medicine.
The medicines mentioned on the chart are confused with a similar-sounding drug.

2. Follow proper procedure while dealing with medication errors:

Recognize the error.
Do not panic. Assess the condition of the resident.
Report the error to a healthcare professional.
Follow the doctor’s order to mend the situation.
Document the error in the patient’s electronic MAR charts and describe the details such as :
Type of error

– Patient’s reactions

– Step taken to correct the medication error

3. Types of medication errors

There are different types of medication errors. A few of them are:

Prescribing error: When an incorrect drug is prescribed or any essential information about drug administration is not communicated.
Wrong time error: When the drug is administered at the wrong time.
Omission error: It refers to the failure in administering a prescribed or ordered dose to the patient before the next scheduled dose.
Unauthorized drug error: Administering a drug that is not prescribed by a healthcare professional.
Wrong dosage: When the dosage is not properly calculated leading to underdose or overdose.

4. Patient education is an important part of medication error prevention

Healthcare professionals should educate the patients about the appropriate use of their medication. This should be a part of their error prevention program. Many errors can be prevented when patients take an active role in their health care. They can act as a final check before administering the drug. The patients should:

Know the names of their medications.
Read the medication information sheet.
Do not share their medicines.
Know how to store drug properly.
Learn about the potential harm posed by a few drugs.

5. eMAR reduces medication errors:

Electronic MAR charts are a reliable way to reduce medication errors. eMAR reduces errors due to poor handwriting, ambiguous abbreviations and confusing verbal instructions. It gives easy access to all the necessary information that caregivers need while administering medication. Not just, that alerts and prompts ensure that no dose is missed. Caregivers and supervisors can access electronic MAR charts without being physically together. The inventory management becomes easy with eMAR as it can send orders to the pharmacy without any confusion that is associated with paper-based MAR charts.

Book a demo to know how electronic MAR charts can help your care home.

Medication administration guidelines and the benefits of eMAR

Proper medication administration is an important part of care homes and nursing homes. A streamlined medication administration system not only ensures correct medication doses to the patients but also decreases the potential risk of medication errors. Choosing an integrated system such as the eMAR medication system can make it easier for caregivers to seamlessly manage their documentation of data. It lowers the hassle around working with piles of paper and saves enough time for caregivers to work efficiently in giving better care to the patients.

Here are certain basic guidelines that must be followed without fail

Wash your hands before and after administering medication.
Make sure that your work area is well-lit and free from distractions.
Always follow the 8 Rights of medication administration.
Before administering any medication, always remember to check for allergies.
Make sure you administer medications under the supervision of a licensed practitioner who is authorised to prescribe medications.
Refrain from giving medication if there is a doubt.
Try to know everything possible about medicine including its side effects before administering it to the patient.
Always remember to check the expiration date on the medication label before giving it to a patient.
Never administer a drug if it looks different from its normal appearance. Any changes in colour, structure, consistency, or odour may be an indication that the medicine is outdated, contaminated, or stored incorrectly.
Do not rely solely on memory when it comes to administering medications. Instead, check the MAR sheet for correct dosage, route and time.
Administer medications as scheduled. Always prepare the medications on your own. Never allow someone to prepare the medication you have to administer.
Never leave a medication unattended once you have already prepared it.
Be careful that you don’t drop or spill the medication while taking it to the patient.
Be with the patient while administering an oral drug. Make sure that the patient has properly swallowed the drug.
Before giving liquid medicine to a patient, shake it well to mix the precipitate content. Precipitation makes the solid content separate from a solution if allowed to stand.
While pouring a liquid medication, hold the measuring device at eye level. Read the correct amount at the lowest level of the meniscus, which is the top surface of the column of liquid.
While pouring a medication, make sure that the dispensing cup is clean.
Keep all the drugs in a safe and secure storage place.
The area where drugs are stored should be loaded and have limited access.
Always read the label for instructions before administering medication.

Recording medication administration is also an important factor to ensure continuity of care for the patient. In the UK, care facilities and nursing homes are moving from MAR sheets to eMAR.

eMAR medication system benefits

It gives access to authorised individuals to view resident records of all provider encounters and laboratory results, transcription notes, radiologic images, and so forth
You can use customised templates to make examination notes, procedures and review of systems.
It helps in inventory management. By linking the software to a pharmacy, you can directly place order.
It flags any drug interactions, contraindications or allergies related to the resident.
It gives immediate access to the resident record to providers and staff members.
It is convenient because records can be easily retrieved. They are never lost or misplaced. Data in eMAR is securely backed up.
It reduces the manual paperwork.
It gives the option to store medical charts for as long as necessary.
You can set reminders for follow-up so that residents do not miss any dose.
It provides a more efficient method of signing charts and thus, helping in setting accountability.
You can print or email a part or the whole chart to a referring provider easily.

More and more care homes in the UK are embracing the eMAR medication system over paper-based MAR as it ensures medication is administered reliably. To know how eMAR can help your care home, book a demo.

Benefits of eMAR for aged care homes

Aged residents with long-term medical conditions often take many prescribed medications. Managing these medications need an organized approach. eMAR is revolutionizing the medication administration process by streamlining the medication administration process and reducing medical errors.

Aged care homes and electronic medication administration record

Here are some of the benefits that aged care homes can get after implementing eMAR:

Benefit 1: Better compliance with documentation requirements

In all healthcare settings, including aged care homes, documentation should be done before moving on to the next person. However, when caregiving staff uses paper-based records, they administer medications to several residents before signing the charts. This is often done to save time but this leaves room for error. Using eMAR allows easy documentation as the hand-held device can be updated on a real-time basis.

Benefit 2: Freedom from duplication of paperwork

Too much paperwork can often lead to confusion. For instance, there are high chances that a caregiving staff member may sign a medication paper chart twice under two dates. This could happen due to many reasons – the common reason for this error is the staff being interrupted during the medication administration round. With eMAR, a caregiving staff can select the medication round time immediately after logging into the system and record the date and time of medication.

Benefit 3: Reduce the possibility of missed dosage or missed documentation

There are chances that caregiving staff may forget to medicate an elderly resident or to sign on medication charts. eMAR ensures that there is no missed dosage by sending alerts to caregiving staff. The eMAR system prompts the caregiving staff before the round starts, ensuring that medication is administered and proper documentation has been done. When using paper-based records, nurses have to rely on their memory and paperwork to ensure that medication has been administered or not.

Benefit 4: Better coordination between caregiving staff members

eMAR helps the caregiving staff to record the time of medication administration for a resident on a real-time basis. Often residents need to be administered the same medication twice a day. Caregiving staff needs to ensure a certain time gap between the two administrations. eMAR gives easy access to information regarding when the first dose was administered. This allows easy flow of information among caregiving staff working in different shifts. Also, in case of a missed dose, eMAR gives the option of choosing pre-defined reasons from a drop-down list or type in the reason. Paper-based MAR charts have limited space to write and any further information has to be documented on a paper note or the handover sheet. With eMAR, all the information is recorded in one place and authorized parties have easy access to it.

If you wish to know how eMAR can benefit your care home, book an online demonstration. We will also tell you how eMAR can be customized as per the specific needs of your care homes.

Medications: Myths Versus Facts

Misconceptions about medicines are becoming increasingly common, especially with so many different online sources offering information that can be confusing. However, if you are running a healthcare setup such as a care home or a nursing home, it is important to ensure that the caregiving staff has the correct information. Knowing the facts and avoiding the myths will help your caregiving staff keep residents safe and healthy.

We have curated some common myths about medication and the facts behind them:

Myth 1: Residents are feeling ok and thus medication can be stopped.

Just because a resident is feeling better doesn’t mean that the caregiving staff can discontinue medication without consulting the GP. Stopping medication abruptly can affect the effectiveness of the treatment sought and the medical condition may relapse.

Myth 2: GP doesn’t need to know about vitamins and supplements

Even though vitamins and supplements do not need a prescription, they still can interfere with prescription medications. In some cases, vitamins and supplements can increase the side effects of prescription medications or interfere with the intended therapeutic effect of a drug. The caregiving staff should maintain a record of all vitamins and supplements that residents are taking.

Myth 3: No need to consult a doctor for over-the-counter medications

If a resident is having congestion or a headache, it’s not okay for the caregivers to give an over-the-counter medication without talking to the doctor. Many over-the-counter medications such as cold and cough medications or pain relievers contain chemicals that may interfere with medications for ailments such as blood pressure and diabetes. Consulting the doctor is the best practice before giving residents any new medication.

Myth 4: Natural supplements are a safe choice

Natural supplements can sometimes be dangerous when taken with prescription and nonprescription medications. Caregiving staff should always make it a point to only administer medications that have been prescribed by the doctor. If a resident is interested in taking natural supplements, make sure that they talk to a doctor before.

Myth 5: Medications can be taken safely with any liquid

Caregiving staff should read instructions on medication administration carefully. Some liquids such as juices can adversely affect the absorption of drugs, particularly those prescribed for medical conditions such as blood pressure or heart ailments. If a resident finds it difficult to take the medication with water, it is important to consult a doctor and find out whether certain medication can be taken with juice or any other liquid.

Myth 6: Prescription for the same ailment can be given to different residents

Administering a medication that is not prescribed to a resident compromises patient safety. Doctors prescribe medications based on an individual’s medical needs, age, existing medical conditions, and other prescriptions. Two residents can suffer from the same ailment but they can be prescribed different medications or the same medication in different dosages. Caregiving staff should never give medicines on their own without consulting the doctor.

About eMAR systems – Electronic medication administration records

To help your caregiving staff administer medicines accurately and maintain clinical records, switch to eMAR systems from paper-based MAR charts. The software ensures that no dosage is missed. As the electronic MAR chart templates are easy to update, they help caregiving staff save time and spend more time in offering person-centered care. To know other benefits of shifting to eMAR, read this useful guide.