EHR bar code technology decreases medication errors

From the iHealthBeat.com article:

For the study, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital compared the administration of medications before and after bar codes were added to the hospital's electronic health record system (Reinberg, HealthDay/Businessweek, 5/5).
The researchers found that after bar code technology was added to EHRs, patients were:

• 57% less likely to receive the wrong drug;
• 42% less likely to receive the wrong dose;
• 61% less likely to receive a drug when none had been prescribed; and
• 27% less likely to receive a drug at the wrong time.

Click here to access the iHealthBeat.com article.  Click here to access the NEJM article on this study.