ONS Connect - July 2008 - (Page 11)

Suzanne M. Mahon, RN, DNSC, AOCN®, APNG, uses BRCAPRO software to create patient pedigrees. FDA Bar Coding Rule Would Reduce Errors How would systems proposed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration work to decrease medication errors? • A patient admitted to the hospital would receive a bar-coded patient identification bracelet that links the patient to his or her computerized health record. • The hospital has bar code scanners linked to the computerized database of medication information and patient health records. • The healthcare worker about to administer a drug would scan the patient’s bracelet and drug’s bar code. The computer ensures that they match. • If an error occurs, the computer sends the healthcare worker a message, allowing investigation of the problem. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2004). FDA issues bar code regulation. Retrieved March 22, 2008, from http://www.fda .gov/oc/initiatives/barcode-sadr/fs-bar code.html predicting patient risk with Software ONS member Suzanne M. Mahon, RN, DNSc, AOCN®, APNG, clinical professor for internal medicine in the School of Nursing at Saint Louis University Cancer Center in Missouri, has seen a major change in the way she provides genetic counseling to patients with hereditary cancers and their families. “I am now using the BRCAPRO software package to draw pedigrees for families with a hereditary risk for developing cancer,” Mahon says. BRCAPRO is a computer program that allows for hereditary cancer risk calculations, and a pedigree easily can be modified if the family history changes. Mahon says that the program is very helpful in providing calculations for the risk of developing breast cancer over time, of carrying a BRCA mutation, and of carrying a mutation associated with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. Although a barrier to successful implementation of new technology is cost, Mahon says that the software she uses is available with a site license but no fee. However, some pedigree software programs can be very expensive. “There really were not any big challenges in the implementation. The program can be easily loaded to a personal computer and was very easy to learn. However, the program does have to be upgraded periodically,” Mahon says. Changing practice, Changing patients’ Lives The use of new technology does change nursing practice. Although most technology may eventually lead to an improvement in patients’ lives, it takes time before a real change in practice can be seen. Nurses need to learn how to use the new technology, get comfortable with its use, and become proficient with it. July 2008 ONS CONNECT 11 http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/barcode-sadr/fs-barcode.html http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/barcode-sadr/fs-barcode.html http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/barcode-sadr/fs-barcode.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ONS Connect - July 2008

ONS Connect - July 2008 Contents Editor's Note Just In Technologic Advancements in Cancer Care A Year in the Life - Month Seven Web Connect Capitol Connection Notice Nursing Now Caregiver Care Computerized System Standardizes Symptom Assessment and Management Nanotechnology Treats Cancer at the Atomic Level Rise in Mastectomies May Be Linked to Increased Use of MRI Detection Working for You Calendar of Events Staying on Top

ONS Connect - July 2008

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