A medical overdose resulted in death at a Maine hospital in early June. A man who was admitted to the emergency room was initially given a drug and then given 10 times the original dose a second time when his symptoms reappeared.
The hospital has a medication distribution system that tracks all medications and coding, but it was human error that resulted in the man's death. Officials at the hospital say regardless of the health IT in place, putting processes in place that include double-checking is what would have made a difference.
The hospital does not have an EHR installed, although it is implementing one and a practice management system in October and will go live with the systems in 2011. The emergency department is also planning on implementing an EHR system, which will also go live in 2011.
The thought has been raised that had an EHR system been in place, it could have red-flagged the second dose and the dosage, and prevented the administration of the medication. We can look at hospital deaths and determine if human error caused it, but can we really determine if an EHR system could have prevented the wrong treatment or dosage?
At this point, it's speculation. What we do have are anecdotes of close calls, and that's a huge value add. If you have an anecdote of a case in which your hospital's EHR system prevented an error, let us know. It may be instructive for other hospitals that are implementing EHR systems.
Photo by erix! obtained via Common Courtesy license.
