The statistics are frightening. With all of the advancements in medical science it’s often oversights and human error that lead to death and serious injury – especially when it comes to medical injections.

• Deaths occur in the UK in approximately one in every 200,000 anesthetics administered. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/medical_notes/4966162.stm
• The preparation of injectable medicines is a highly complex process, involving many steps where errors can happen. Problems in preparing and administering injectable medicines account for 62 per cent of all medication safety incidents reported to the National Reporting and Learning Service (NRLS) as leading to death or severe harm (Safety in Doses, 2009).

In the fast-paced world of surgery and medical treatment, it’s easy for a mistake to be made and the wrong medication or dosage to be administered to a patient. To help alleviate this problem, a joint initiative by the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, the Intercollegiate Faculty of Accident and Emergency Medicine and the Intensive Care Society recommends using a single standard for syringe labelling. The recommendation includes adopting a colour-coded labelling system that is currently used in North America and APAC.

PRISYM ID and Codonics make it easier for hospitals and healthcare providers to adopt these standards, as well as other barcode and labelling criteria, with a safe labelling system for syringes called the Codonics Safe Label System (SLS) 500i. The SLS 500i (designed and manufactured in the USA) was developed by Massachusetts General Hospital anaesthesiologists to prevent intravenous medication errors via barcode assisted medication labelling. The technology scans drug vial barcodes, and prints a full-colour label containing labelling data elements recommended by the initiative. Click here for more information on SLS 500i.

Any steps that can be taken to reduce human error and anaesthetist’s reliance on memory when it comes to administering injectable drugs will be a step forward. We expect the healthcare industry will continue to focus on labelling standardisation, the use of protocols and checklists, and the elimination of look-alike products as a way to help ensure patient safety. What have you observed regarding labelling protocol? Has the new colour-coding system had an impact on safety? Share your thoughts and predictions.