Medication errors are one of the most common preventable errors that are reported in hospitals, care homes, and health facilities. Several care homes and health facilities continue to use paper-based medical records, forcing the staff to rummage through papers for determining which medication is due for the patients. Not only is that time-consuming, but the legibility of prescription can also lead to omission or overdose of medicines. However, this is not the case with care homes and health facilities that use electronic medication systems. eMAR is a software that helps to streamline medication processes and, thus, significantly improve patient safety. eMAR comes with a number of features that cover different aspects of medication administration –
Here are the key features of eMAR and how they benefit care homes:
- Alerts: This is one of the most important features of eMAR. The alert features ensure that medicine dosage is not missed. It sends an alert to care, workers when the medicine is due. The alert has all the details: the name of the patient, the name and dosage of the medicine and how it should be administered. This way even a new care worker would know which medicines are to be given to which patients and at what time. Reminders are sent to the care staff before the medication is due. Not just that it can also send email reminders to team supervisors in case a dosage is missed.
- Audits: Medication management is a complex task. It doesn’t just end with giving the right medicine to the right patient. Medication management involves taking care of the inventory and sending the pharmacy request for the supply. Auditing MAR Sheets for medication counting and other gaps can be time-consuming and prone to human errors. Care workers can prepare extensive month-end reporting with ease using eMAR without having to manually go through each and every paper. They can also integrate the pharmacy with the software and send restocking requests on a real-time basis.
- Notes: With eMAR in place, there is no more finger-pointing among the care workers. eMAR records all notes made by each staff member. Paper MAR sheets leave a lot of room for doubt because of overwriting or a person not signing the sheet. However, this is not the case with eMAR. The app records all medication notes and provides the proof at the time of review. This promotes a culture of accountability and responsibility in the care homes.
- Reporting: With paper-based MAR sheets, making monthly reports is one big task. The care home staff has to manually go through each and every paper to prepare a report. With eMAR, they can prepare monthly reports in a jiffy. Not just monthly reports, they can also make detailed reports spanning days, weeks, months or even years.
Switch to eMAR for better operational efficiency and better patient safety
eMAR is a valuable tool that can help your care home reduce medication errors and improve operational efficiency. The best part is that eMAR is highly customizable. Switch to eMAR to adhere to the highest standards of medication administration procedures. Book a demo to see how eMAR can increase efficiency in your facility.