Megan Maddox RE: Bedside Medication using Bar code technology

The hospital I work at is currently moving to using bar code technology for bedside medication administration. The question that has been posed is.... What are the pros/cons between a wall mounted device versus a hand-held device in this task in regards to patient/medication safety. Is staff more likely to ""always"" use a handheld device since it can be right with the nurse next to the bed versus a wall mounted device that is not as conveniently located in a patient room. Or do you run the risk of people misplacing handhelds and administering medications with out scanning the bar code - because the device is misplaced, etc.... I would really appreciate any feedback from places already using bedside bar code technology and insight on their decisions as to why they went with their specific ""scanning"" device.
In addition - any comments on how you think this has improved patient safety in regard to medication errors - would be greatly appreciated as well.
Thank you - Megan

Megan Maddox, Pharm.D., BCPS. CDE
Medication Safety Officer
Sioux Valley Hospital
Office: 605-333-4295
Pager: 605-333-5588 x1345
MADDOXM@SIOUXVALLEY.ORG