Medication errors are nothing to mess around with.
In fact, medication errors harm at least 1.5 million people every year and cost the public health system an estimated $3.5 billion, according to AMCP.
Outside of patient safety, though, medication errors can damage your pharmacy’s reputation and tank your profit margins.
With so much on the line, it’s important you do your part to minimize medication errors. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone.
In recent years, pharmacy software has evolved to help you cut down on these errors — making your workflow more efficient and your patients safer.
If you haven’t considered how software can improve your error rate, you might be missing out.
From real-time alerts to barcode scanning, today’s pharmacy software offers a wide range of tools to prevent mistakes before they happen.
Here are 5 ways you can use your software to reduce medication errors and keep your pharmacy running smoothly.
What Causes Medication Errors?
Before diving into the solutions, though, you need to know why medication errors happen in the first place.
Common issues include manual entry mistakes, miscommunication between pharmacy staff and prescribers, illegible handwriting (yes, that’s still a thing!), and even simple oversights during high-pressure moments.
If you evaluate your own practices, you may find that you’ve fallen victim to one of these errors.
And, for pharmacists, the stakes are high.
Medication errors can lead to patients receiving the wrong medication, incorrect dosages, or dangerous drug interactions.
That’s where pharmacy software steps in.
The right pharmacy software should do more than streamline your workflow — it should be a game-changer when it comes to patient safety.
In fact, your software should offer a wide variety of features to help you reduce medication errors.
If it doesn’t, or if you’re looking to upgrade your system, visit our Compare Software page to get real input from real pharmacists and find the best software for your pharmacy.
1. Use Real-Time Drug Interaction Alerts
One of the most important features any pharmacy software can have is the ability to check for drug interactions.
These real-time alerts act as a safety net for your pharmacy, flagging potential problems before a prescription ever reaches the patient.
Whether it’s a conflict between medications or an issue with allergies, you can set your software to send you notifications in real time.
The best part? These alerts are constantly updated with the latest drug information, so you can ensure you’re working with accurate, up-to-date information.
Enabling alerts is a simple tweak in your software, but it can make a world of difference in preventing dangerous mistakes.
To learn more, read our blog, 8 Tips to Prevent Drug Interactions in Your Pharmacy.
2. Implement Barcode Scanning
If you’re still relying on manual verification, it’s time to upgrade.
Barcode scanning technology — built into your pharmacy software — can make the prescription verification process faster, more reliable, and much less prone to error.
Here’s how it works: You scan the medication, and the software automatically verifies it against the patient’s prescription.
No manual data entry, no second-guessing, and much less room for error.
It’s an easy way to streamline your workflow and ensure that patients are getting exactly what they need.
Plus, it’s a big time-saver on your end.
3. Enable E-Prescribing
Handwritten prescriptions are a thing of the past — or at least they should be.
Electronic prescribing (or ePrescribing, for short) allows doctors to send prescriptions directly to your pharmacy through a secure digital system, essentially eliminating the risk of misreading messy handwriting, receiving incomplete orders, and the whole gamut of problems pharmacists face in receiving scripts.
By cutting out the guesswork, you’re able to process prescriptions more quickly and accurately.
Many pharmacy software systems come equipped with eScript integrations that make this process seamless.
These integrations ensure that the prescription data goes straight into your software system without any manual entry required.
This not only speeds up your workflow but also ensures that the information is captured accurately.
And because these systems are HIPAA-compliant, you can ensure that patient data stays secure.
For more information, visit our blog, 10 Tips & Tricks for Efficient Prescription Dispensing.
4. Track Refills and Dosages
Managing refills and dosages can get tricky, especially if patients aren’t sticking to their medication schedules.
But pharmacy software offers tools that make it easier to track adherence, ensuring that patients are getting the right dosages at the right time.
From automated refill reminders to patient tracking, these tools help you catch inconsistencies before they become a problem.
Plus, they can increase patient compliance, which means fewer errors on your end and better outcomes for your patients.
5. Set Up Alerts for High-Risk Medications
Certain medications — like insulin, opioids, and anticoagulants — require extra caution.
Luckily, your pharmacy software can help you stay on top of them.
When you set up customized alerts for high-risk drugs in your software, your team receives automatic notifications whenever a high-risk drug is prescribed or dispensed.
You can set alerts to flag specific medications, dosages, or interactions, and your system may even prompt additional verification steps — like requiring a second staff member to double-check the prescription before it’s finalized.
By implementing these customized alerts, you can build a safety net for yourself and ensure you stay compliant with regulations.
Conclusion
Medication errors are on the rise, but they don’t have to be a constant source of stress for you and your team.
With the right pharmacy software, you can reduce the risk of errors, improve patient safety, and streamline your workflow — all from a single screen.
From real-time drug interaction alerts to barcode scanning and e-prescribing, these tools are designed to make your life easier and your pharmacy more efficient.
If your current software isn’t providing the support you need, it might be time to compare your options.
With the right software set in place, you can minimize errors and focus on what really matters: providing the best care for your patients.
