August 20, 2007 - Mediware Information Systems Inc. reported its MediREC automated medication reconciliation product for hospitals is exceeding expectations since its release in May.
The system enables healthcare facilities to document and reconcile medications taken by patients at home, prior to prescribing additional drug therapies within the hospital environment. The process is mandated by the Joint Commission, which oversees the accreditation of hospitals, to avert potential drug interactions and adverse drug events when patients are admitted.
According to John Damgaard, chief operating officer of Mediware Information Systems, medication reconciliation processes have come under scrutiny as hospitals continue to struggle with time consuming and sometimes inaccurate admission interviews.
"A very high percentage of hospitals use manual processes for medication reconciliation," Damgaard said. "They literally take a form to the patient and interview them to document which drugs they take, writing down the medication name, strength and frequency."
"This is vital information for patient safety, but manual processes waste time and are error prone. Further, hospitals have no alternative process if the patient is seriously injured, unconscious or mentally unable to participate in the interview," he said.
MediREC provides care providers information by electronically surveying pharmacy databases to retrieve and display patient prescriptions. Nurses can validate the prescriptions electronically, check for potential drug interactions or duplications, and check a 'dashboard' to manage the patients' medications throughout the inpatient stay. MediREC is also an ADT interface that automatically compiles medication reconciliation files for the nursing staff upon the patient's admission.
MediREC combines industry data and pharmacological intelligence. It researches RelayHealth's intelligent pharmacy claims processing network, which processes prescription claims for more than 70 percent of the nation's pharmacies, to supply the patient prescription information, then integrates Mediware's drug information database and pharmacy processes to permit nurses to accurately manage medications from admission, transfer and discharge.
"MediREC takes one of the best prescription data sources and adds real-time pharmacological intelligence to help nurses and other care providers ensure that the right information is collected and that adverse reactions are avoided in inpatient prescriptions," said Russell Funk, PharmD, Mediware's vice president of product development. "Because of Mediware's deep expertise in pharmacy information systems, MediREC extends well beyond data collection and aggregation tools available to enable providers with intelligent support that should improve safety as well as efficiency."
For more information: www.mediware.com/mm/medirec/.