Several safeguards have been implemented to try to catch the medication errors that affect an estimated 1.5 million people each year and account for $16.4 billion for errors affecting inpatients alone. Although labeling and packaging were cited by the Institute of Medicine as the source of roughly one-third of medication errors, bar code technology, RFID, computerized physician order entry and electronic medical records, although helpful, have failed to prevent some adverse patient events with deadly consequences.
Human error amplified by computer technology is one part of the problem. Among the companies that have set themselves to work on solving this conundrum is MedAware Solutions. The Israeli health IT company is seeking to raise $2.5 million to advance its Prescription Analysis and Alert System, according to a Form D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company has not returned calls for comment on the fundraise.
The device carries out real-time analysis of prescriptions generated by physicians using an EMR’s Computerized Physician Order Entry system, according to the company’s website. It flags prescriptions that deviate from normal prescription pattern, and transmits an alert to the prescribing physician. For example, it triggers an alert when two drugs with similar names get mixed up, and when drugs are prescribed to the wrong patients. It also monitors active medications and generates an alert if new patient data such as a blood test or new diagnosis cancels out the need for certain medications. It also creates similar notifications for pharmacists and triggers an alert for the patient’s doctor.
The 2-year-old company has offices in Boston and Israel. It currently has partnerships with health IT company Elad HealthCare Solutions, which produces an electronic medical record and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
The big data analytics device sounds like it’s made for an area in need of more ways to identify these errors and prevent them from causing harm. But part of the unintended consequences of having another alarm to warn overburdened medical professionals is that it risks getting lost amidst the alert symphony that characterizes many healthcare facilities looking after sick patients. Hopefully, the makers have produced a tool that fits comfortably in the priorities of caregivers and can be tweaked to be effective at getting the notice of users without providing another source of alarm fatigue.
Another company that’s developed technology to prevent medication errors is Design Clinicals.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Low-fi solutions, like simply raising awareness among doctors, nurses and pharmacists — especially when they are prescribing and delivering drugs for seniors aged 65 and older — could cut the rate of potentially inappropriate medications.
