ATLANTIC GENERAL HOSPITAL RECEIVES AWARD AT WORLD CONFERENCE

Community Medication Record project earns Health Data Management Editors Choice Award

Medication error is a common threat to patient safety: it is estimated that 7,000 patients die in the U.S. each year as a result of medication errors an¬¬d a larger number require further treatment. The American Hospital Association points to incomplete patient information – including known allergies and current medications – as one of a handful of principle causes.
Through a $50,000 Cardinal Health Grant, Atlantic General Hospital created a software solution to link hospital and physician office medication and allergy records and thus reduce these kinds of errors.
In recognition of this innovative solution, Atlantic General was recently awarded the 2007 Health Data Management Editors Choice Award for small and medium-sized hospitals at the Third Annual World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress in Washington, D.C.
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About CMR
During the first phase of the project, hospital medication and allergy records as well as more than 2,000 records from two pilot physician offices were backloaded into the CMR.
The medication record is bi-directional, meaning that both hospital staff and physician office personnel can make updates to a patient’s list of medications and allergies. This insures that the most up-to-date information is available for each patient, improving and speeding the medication reconciliation process.
During future phases, Atlantic General Hospital plans to expand the CMR to the hospital’s emergency room and other departments as well as to physician offices in the community. They will also create additional features such as bar coding and electronic prescription transmission to the pharmacy.
For more information about the Community Medication Record, please contact Murray Oltman, Director of Information Services, Atlantic General Hospital, at (410) 629-0913.