BCEN CEN Practice Question

Implementing a bar-code medication administration (BCMA) process provides the largest, consistently demonstrated reduction in bedside medication-administration errors. Multiple prospective and before-and-after studies, including work in emergency departments, have shown error reductions of 40-80% after BCMA implementation. The system links the patient's bar-coded ID band with the bar code on each medication, verifying the "five rights" (right patient, drug, dose, route, and time) and preventing wrong-patient or wrong-dose events before they reach the patient.

Independent double-checks are recommended for selected high-alert medications, but systematic reviews have found mixed results and limited overall impact compared with single checks. Verbal orders increase the risk of miscommunication and should be minimized, and relying solely on computerized provider order entry addresses prescribing-not administration-errors. Therefore, BCMA offers the most comprehensive and evidence-based safety benefit.