During recent times, there has been an increasing demand as well as the adoption of electronic medication administration records (eMAR) Software, especially by caregivers providing Private Duty Nursing. Employing a system such as eMAR (electronic Medication Administration Record) ensures that medication errors don’t occur and helps you get a whole host of other advantages. In this article, we talk about the functionalities and the importance of Electronic Medication Administration Records (eMAR) Software for Private Duty Nursing Home Care Agencies.

What is an Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR)?

A Medication Administration Record or MAR (eMAR for electronic versions) is a report that serves as a record of the drugs administered to a patient by a health care professional. The MAR is a part of a patient's permanent record on their medical chart.

Importance of using the right Electronic Medication Administration Records (eMAR) Software for Private Duty Nursing Home Care Agencies

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Private Duty Nursing Agencies provide skilled care at home for medically fragile pediatric and adult patients. Private Duty Nurses provide care in longer shifts – quite often, 16-24 hours a day, attending to single patients or multiple patients at multiple places. Amongst the responsibilities of nurses is collecting and documenting the Vitals and Measurements (Vent Settings, Seizure Logs, etc.) multiple times during the shift. Further, they need to administer multiple medications and treatments multiple times during the shift.

ELECTRONIC MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION RECORDS (eMAR) IN PRIVATE DUTY NURSING

Needless to say, accurate medication is critical and Private Duty nurses need to administer the right medication in the right dosage at the right time. An electronic medication administration record can minimize the risk of errors. Unfortunately, most software designed for visit-based agencies does not provide adequate support for eMAR and eTAR. From the ability to identify the right patient to provide the ability to shift supervisors to check medications administered or missed, there are unique electronic Medication Administration Records (eMAR) and Treatment Administration Records challenges faced by Private Duty Home Care Agencies.

Private Duty Nursing Home Care agencies should look for a software platform that provides easy-to-use and efficient eMAR and eTAR functions. Simple, easy-to-use, and dynamic eMAR and eTAR functions will significantly reduce medication and treatment administration errors.

Challenges in Finding the Right eMAR/eTAR Software

Most software solutions provide static PDF-based eMAR forms to document medication or treatment administration leading to many deficiencies. Static eMAR/eTAR forms require printing of the eMAR form, filling the forms, scanning, and re-uploading the filled form back, creating unnecessary work for the caregivers.

Static Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR) and Electronic Treatment Administration Record (eTAR) forms pose the following challenges in care delivery:

When medications and treatments change, static forms will not reflect the changes in real-time
Since the forms do not contain the historical medications and treatments administered in a digital format, it makes it cumbersome to query the history

Further, most commercial software does not provide the following features:

Drug Interactions and patient education materials
Option to collect vitals, like temperature, blood pressure, before administering the medication
Ability to provide reminders for medications and treatments coming due
Alerts for missed medications and treatments
Lack of access to complete clinical information and if available the access is very limited

Features of eMAR/eTAR Software

The following are some of the key features of a software platform to handle the unique requirements of Electronic Medication and Treatment Administration Record (eMAR/eTAR)) for Private Duty Nursing Agencies.

Simple, easy to use, and dynamic eMAR and eTAR documentation screen
Medication and treatment changes are available in real-time for administration at the point of care
Ability to add, change or discontinue medications and treatments at the point of care
Missed Medication and missed treatment alerts during the shift. This will reduce missed or late administration of medication or treatment
Prompt the user to collect and review vitals, if necessary, before administering the medication
Ability to view drug interactions and patient education materials in eMAR and eTAR screen
Ability to view medication and treatment history in eMAR and eTAR screen
Option to enter notes for each medication and treatment during the administration
Option to view and administer future medications depending on the next visit for the patient
Simple process to manage PRN Medications
Integrated order entry (Medications, Treatments) with real-time drug interactions and alerts.
Access all the clinical and scheduling information at the point of care to get a complete picture of the patient

““CareVoyant eMAR (Electronic Medication Administration) allows us to update the patient’s medication profile and administration record in real-time. This has allowed us to reduce medication errors and increase documentation accuracy.””

— Dawn Harkins, RN, BSN Administrator/Owner, Elite Home Care

Benefits of Using CareVoyant’s eMAR/eTAR

CareVoyant’s Private Duty Nursing Software offers the following benefits.

Enable the clinicians to efficiently administer a large number of medications and treatments while providing care during the shift.
Allow the users to stay in one screen to document all the care in addition to medication and treatment administration.
Provide alerts for missed medications and treatments. This will reduce medication and treatment errors.
Provide access to clinicians will have access to complete clinical information for the patient including past medication and administration history. This will improve the quality of care.
Provision unique functions to meet Electronic Medication and Treatment Administration Record requirements for Private Duty Home Care Agencies. It will significantly reduce medication and treatment administration errors improving efficiency.

ABOUT CAREVOYANT

CareVoyant is a leading provider of cloud-based integrated enterprise-scale home health care software that can support all home-based services under ONE Software, ONE Patient, and ONE Employee, making it a Single System of Record. We support all home based services, including Home Care, Private Duty Nursing, Private Duty Non-Medical, Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), Home Health, Pediatric Home Care, and Outpatient Therapy at Home.

CareVoyant functions – Intake, Authorization Management, Scheduling, Clinical with Mobile options, eMAR/eTAR, Electronic Visit Verification (EVV), Billing/AR, Secure Messaging, Notification, Reporting, and Dashboards – streamline workflow, meet regulatory requirements, improve quality of care, optimize reimbursement, improve operational efficiency and agency bottom line.

For more information, please visit CareVoyant.com or call us at 1-888-463-6797.