Drug administration to improve with new technology

Becton Dickinson (BD), a global medical technology company, will soon introduce a new technology in drug administration to Ghanaian hospitals.

The technology, when used well, will ensure safety of patients and healthcare professionals.

Mr Jan Henning Austnes, the International Clinical Director with the Medication Management Solutions Department of BD, said the company was concerned with advancing of a healthy world by ensuring complete IV solutions for the safe delivery of drugs.

Mr Austnes, at a product presentation to train nurses, doctors and other health professionals on the new technology, said 40 per cent of mistakes were actually in the administration of drugs; only two percent are discovered and intercepted.

“That is why it is important to use technology to improve safety not only for the patients but also for the care giver,” he said.

Mr Austnes said the company was providing complete intravenous (IV) solutions for the delivery of safe drugs and one of the target lines in the company was advancing the world of health.

“We see a lot of medication errors and part of the solution is through administration through IV infusion pumps that can be programmed with standardised drug protocols with safety limits,” he said.

Mr Austnes said the company had a training plan for all the technology users to enable them to be abreast of the functioning of the equipment.

“The use of these technologies will take the healthcare delivery of this country from where it is now to where all the various countries are moving to in the world.

“The instruments are easy to use and it can be tailor-made to suit the clinical practice we are going into,” he said.

Mr Daniel Morkla, the Global IT Connectivity, Integration and Interoperability Manager of Medication Management Solutions Department of BD, told the Ghana News Agency that the company would undertake similar workshops in Kumasi and Tamale.

He said it was working with the Ministry of Health to provide the technology that would improve healthcare safety and clinical efficiency.

Mr Morkla said BD was trying to take the message through the whole country, because it believed in bringing safe medication and IV solutions to Ghana.

Dr Quashie Sam, a Doctor at the Department of Anesthesia, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, said the introduction of the technology was the right step to help healthcare professionals to go by their activities effectively.

He said if those machines were acquired, it would make drug administration effective and efficient, which would also cut down a number of errors in the system.

Mr Godfred Adjei, a Pharmacist with the Oncology Unit of the Radiotherapy Centre, Korle-Bu Hospital, said the training was an eye-opener into how the technology would make healthcare delivery easier.

He said if management of the Hospital was able to secure the technology, it would boost the confidence of the professionals in administering drugs and would also provide safety for both the patient and the caregiver.