Caring Homes Pioneers New Technology with the Introduction of eMAR
Last month, four of our care homes successfully introduced eMAR – electronic Medication Administration Recording – which is designed to increase patient safety by improving consistency and efficiency around the delivery of medication.
Castle View Care Home on the Isle of Man, Hawkhill House Nursing Home in Aberdeen, The Manor Care Home in Edinburgh and Tarring Manor Care Home in Worthing, West Sussex, were chosen as our pilot sites.
User Friendly System Improves Consistency, Efficiency and Visibility
eMAR at Caring Homes is provided through a system called Camascope. Created around a portal and also app-based for use during medication rounds, it builds a complete medication profile for each resident which integrates with information already held for them on our care planning system, PCS (Person Centred Software) and with the pharmacy provider.
Each profile shows medical information unique to the resident including allergies, conditions and protocols for particular medicines and their chart is viewed on an electronic tablet - much clearer than a paper printout - by the individual administering medicines. The system prompts a series of simple steps and checks and in effect, provides a complete audit trail where every recorded action is given a time, date and user stamp.
Managers oversee and monitor a resident’s profile over a period of time or filter to view a particular aspect. For example, they can see that medication has been either ‘taken, missed or skipped’, with notes recorded alongside where relevant. It’s an important tool in identifying trends and patterns associated with residents or team members.
More Effective Recording of Medical Data and Less Medicine Wastage
Another benefit of using eMAR Camascope is that medication given ‘only when required’ or that is self-administered, can be recorded electronically. It also recognises new medication that has been added to a resident’s profile and will raise an alert if there is a potential clash with existing medicines.
The system not only helps to reduce the administration around medication and recording errors, it also works towards reducing medicine waste by facilitating end to end stock management. This means that each care home is in complete control of its own stock, from ordering and checking in medicines to recording returned or disposed products
In Depth Training and eMAR Champions in Each Care Home
In advance of the launch, in depth training on eMAR was provided to all staff who administer medicines in each of the four pilot site homes. Additionally, each home has nominated an eMAR champion who acts as go-between, feeding back after training sessions and supporting once training is complete.
Positive Feedback from Pilot Sites
There’s been plenty of positive feedback so far from the four pilot homes, with staff commenting that once set up and organised, the system is proving more time efficient and user-friendly, particularly with medications being clearly visible on a screen rather than on the pages of a chart.
Karen Grainger, Tarring Manor Home Manager, said “Staff are already seeing the advantages of the accuracy of ordering - the fact that the system carries forward each month and sends an alert if stock is low. As a manager, I find the system simple to use and the reports I can access give me an overview of the whole processes so I can keep it monitored and audited. And our GP surgery has told us they find eMAR more succinct and easier to use when they are placing the monthly and interim requests.
Caring Homes Project Support Manager, Melissa Jeffery concluded, “The work done by our four pilot sites on eMAR has been tremendously helpful in advance of introducing the system to the entire Caring Homes group over the next 6 months. We’re now able to review the training, the integration and the usability of the system and make any necessary adjustments before the next phase begins. Most importantly, once eMAR is fully embedded and helps to improve our efficiency, our teams will be able to spend more quality time with our residents, which is always a priority.
I’m also pleased that this new technology will complete the circle of communication between GP, pharmacy and care home and again, this can only positively impact our residents”.
