Per the notice below, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has issued an update on its digital health care initiatives.
Using Digital Healthcare Technologies to Improve Medication SafetyAHRQ-Funded Research FindingsMedication safety has improved significantly over the last two decades with the use of digital healthcare technologies. While errors may happen at all stages of the medication process, a variety of tools support the prescribing process (e.g., computerized prescribing with decision support), the dispensing process (e.g., barcoding or automated dispensing and unit-dose systems), and the administration process (e.g., electronic medication administration records and smart pumps).
As the Nation’s patient safety agency, AHRQ invests in research to identify and prevent medication errors. Below are examples of AHRQ-funded research focused on understanding ways that technology can catch these errors and improve medication safety. The full list of DHR-funded research on how digital healthcare technology is improving medication safety is available here. |
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Decreasing Medication Safety Risks with E-prescribingImplementing CancelRx, an e-prescribing tool to electronically communicate medication discontinuation orders between electronic health records and pharmacies, showed an immediate and persistent reduction in prescriptions that were dispensed after discontinuation. |
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Closing the Communication Gap Between Prescribers and Pharmacists to Decrease Medication Safety Risks
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Improving Medication Safety for Older AdultsUsing a clinical decision support system in the emergency department significantly reduces the prescribing of potentially inappropriate medications for older adults. |
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Decision Support in the Emergency Department to Improve Medication Safety in Older Adults
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Using automated digital healthcare tools to advance medication safetyNew measures to identify near-miss medication errors are a major advancement in patient safety and can help healthcare systems make ordering even safer. |
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Automated Retract-and-Reorder Measures to Improve Medication Safety
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Medication Without Harm - How Digital Healthcare Tools Can Support Providers and Improve Patient SafetyAHRQ will host a free Webinar on July 24, 2024, from 2:30 – 4:00 pm ET where an expert panel of speakers will share their research about how quality improvement approaches and digital healthcare interventions such as clinical decision support tools are reducing medication errors, improving provider effectiveness, and enhancing patient safety in a variety of clinical care settings.
Learn more and register |
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