Electronic Medication Administration Record: Importance and Impact on Patient Safety

Running Head: ELECGTRONIC MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION RECORD
Computer and Informatics in Nursing
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COMPUTER AND INFORMATICS IN NURSING
Introduction to the topic
Electronic medication administration record (eMAR) is an automated system that tracks the
medication channeling from the pharmacy order to the administration by the patient (Truitt,
et al., 2016). The automation process is adopted by using assistive technology along with the
electronic system for collecting records, analyzing the data, and retrieving information during
electronic health record (EHR) reporting. eMAR was implemented with the objective to
mainstream proper usage of drugs in clinical settings, adopting the strategy of safe
medication usage and effective clinical outcome for community health. Since
pharmacotherapy is the mainstream strategy in clinical settings, the issues related to reducing
adverse drug reactions, avoiding self-medication, and enhancing the quality of life, are of
high importance (Oliveros et al., 2017). The above discussion provides the definition of
eMAR, which is a subsystem of the EHR system. In this report, the focus is on the
importance of eMAR, and its impact on patient safety. The presented information will be
based on the viewpoint of experts in this field, nursing research, and comparative analysis
based on information from peer-reviewed sources. More importantly, the emphasis here will
be on the associated strength and gaps that can be adopted for the betterment of community
health.

COMPUTER AND INFORMATICS IN NURSING
Description of the topic
The mainframe analysis of eMAR will be based on available literature spanning over
the advantages, challenges, and further scope of improvement. In particular, despite the
utilization from the information technology sector, lack of computer literacy and resistance to
change is the key factor behind the unsuccessful adaptation of this prospect (Risør, Lisby &
Sørensen, 2016). However, discussion of these issues is of high importance, in order to render
effectiveness in clinical practices and enhance patient safety.
According to Flynn, Evanish, Fernald, Hutchinson & Lefaiver, (2016), the use of
eMAR is considered, a masterpiece of improved nursing practices. The motivation is linked
with effective delivery of patient care in conjunction with safety consideration for the
administration of medicines. The issue of medication error across the globe mainly arises
because of factors like incompleteness in medication orders, multiple caregivers and their
recommendations, self-medication practices due to higher high fees of practitioners or lack of
insurance, illegible handwriting, and poor interpretation by nurses and pharmacist. On the
contrary, the objective behind using eMAR is to prevent medication errors including
improvement in access to patient data as well as a reduction in errors during the transcription
process.
Furthermore, to support this practice, the act of health information technology
economic and clinical health (HITECH) have made mandatory policies that govern the
participation of healthcare professionals in health information exchange (HIE) programs
(Atasoy, Greenwood & McCullough, 2018). These provisions require updated management
of information regarding patient health, medications, and clinical outcomes. As a result of
which, the healthcare settings were forcefully motivated to adopt such strategies in order to
comply with the regulations and for the improvement of clinical outcomes.

COMPUTER AND INFORMATICS IN NURSING
Importance to practice
Clinical practices are mostly suffered by human error which in turn is responsible for
the deterioration in patient safety. However, the implementation of eMAR can be considered
as a supporting tool that can reduce such problems. The major aspects are associated with
adverse drug events, contraindicated drug combinations, forgetting the prescribed schedules,
inappropriate administration of drugs, and failure to follow up to determine the efficacy of
administered medications. These concerns could easily overcome by using the electronic
system to manage the administration of medications and thus the use of eMAR in clinical
practices is of significant importance (Blobel, 2018).
The common barriers that are existing in the line of implementing eMAR include lack
of motivation, adequate information about beneficial aspects, lack of training to adopt an
electronic system for documentation, and resistance to change. In addition to this, according
to de Jong, Ros, van Leeuwen, and Schrijvers (2016) more than 80% of patients are also
unaware of the benefits associated with such an electronic system. Hence, it is important to
note that the line managers and leaders of the nursing team should adopt appropriate
measures to motivate and educate the workforce regarding the usage of eMAR. Later, with
adequate knowledge about the utility of eMAR, healthcare professionals can also collaborate
with patients, for adopting an electronic system for the medication purpose. As a result of
which, not only the clinical outcomes but also aspects like self-efficacy and safety, can be
enhanced.
Summary of literature findings
According to Staggers, Iribarren, Guo, & Weir (2015), it was analysed that the
barcode medication administration system, to identify the problems in usability among the
nurses. The study identifies that issues related to medication administration chart, situational