Antonius Hospital received the GS1 Netherlands quality award for their standard implementation in the administration of medication by means of barcodes.

The number of medical incidents in Dutch hospitals has been recorded for more than a decade. Hospital pharmacist Dr Michiel Duyvendak of Antonius Hospital Sneek/Emmeloord has made it his mission to reduce the number of incidents associated with the administration of medication. His work was recognised on 30 March 2017 when Antonius Hospital was presented with the “GS1 Pluim” quality award by Hendrik Jan Roel, Chairman of GS1 Netherlands and Executive Vice-President of Finance at Albert Heijn.

The figures in the Dutch national database reveal over 30 percent of medical incidents relate to errors in the administration of medication. “Our aim as healthcare professionals is to make people better, not to worsen their condition by administering the wrong medication. Studies have shown that barcode-based verification can prevent 50 percent of serious administration errors. We have worked together with GS1 Netherlands on an inventory of all the medication we stock, so we can know which manufacturers apply the relevant standards properly. Uniform barcode standards are essential if the software is to work properly,” Michiel Duyvendak said.

Although the implementation of barcoding is a long-term project, Michiel Duyvendak urges potential user organisations to take the plunge: “The marginal costs, on top of the bedside infrastructure that you need to have nowadays in any case, are low. The time saved in maintaining the patients’ files and the overall increase in efficiency brought about by the automated verification allows room to refine the barcoding system. You need to make the system as user-friendly as possible for the nurses, but don’t wait until every little glitch has been ironed out. We need to make the quantum leap to a better system: our patients deserve it.”

To learn more, access the Healthcare Provider Advisory Council (HPAC) webinar recording with Michiel Duyvendak and download the presentation here