Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has implemented a knowledge-based medication administration (KBMA) system utilizing barcode technology.
Altera Digital Health’s Sunrise KBMA solution was gradually introduced across adult inpatient wards at Cheltenham General Hospital and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in August 2024.
The system enables clinicians to utilize barcodes for patient identification and medication verification during administration, aiming to decrease medication errors.
Part of the Scan4Safety initiative, a £12 million program started in 2016 to explore the use of GS1 barcodes for enhancing patient safety.
Matt Little, chief nursing information officer at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, highlighted the importance of patient identification and medication verification during administration for patient safety.
Sunrise KBMA includes electronic prescribing, pharmacy interfaces, and clinical decision support, integrating with the trust’s existing electronic patient record (EPR) system and electronic prescribing solution.
This KBMA implementation is a part of Gloucestershire Hospitals’ digital transformation efforts, aiming for HIMSS Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM) Stage 6 accreditation.
Initial results of the system implementation at Gloucestershire Hospitals have been promising, with a high number of patient scans and medication verifications recorded.
Rachael Fox, executive vice president, EMEA at Altera Digital Health, praised Gloucestershire Hospitals’ progress in digital excellence and acknowledged the system’s contribution to achieving high HIMSS EMRAM status.
