I-Corps: Michelangelo

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project allows physicians, nurses, and other healthcare personnel to give medication to their patients in a more efficient and safe manner by significantly reducing the number of medication errors made in health care settings. One study calculated the economic costs of this problem in the United States to be over $2 billion in 1993, leading to longer hospitalizations, loss of income, and higher insurance premiums. Of greater importance, these errors can be traced to over 7,000 deaths. Consumer segments include any medical institution that administers medications including medical centers, academic, major metropolitan, and regional hospitals, surgery centers, urgent care centers, dental and veterinarian offices, and nursing homes. This I-Corps project is a proposal for a medical device designed to decrease medication errors and be compatible with vials currently used in the hospital. It uses cameras to read a printed code on a vial to positively identify the medication for safety, contraindications, expiration, manufacturer recall, and previous usage to dispense medication contained inside without the use of needles, syringes, or labels. It will also decrease medication delivery times, adverse drug reactions, contamination, counterfeiting, and waste. Our device also consists of a backend database that keeps track of medications tagged with a code to provide a record of medication given to patients. The database can be updated to prevent the delivery of recalled, expired, and previously used medications. The basis of this device is a barcode medication administration (BCMA) system to give medication to patients and manage inventory of medications in pharmacies. Most medication errors occur from the use of intravenous medications from a number of different sources and are the leading cause of complications by anesthetists. This apparatus can improve workflow efficiency and provide multiple safety nets by automatically alerting the anesthetist to contraindicated medications and allergies, sending reminders for redosing medications, and documenting medication administration. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.