06.20.2025 PCS
How ATLAS eMAR was proven in an independent study to remove almost all error types in medication management
When it comes to medication administration in care homes, there are a number of areas where errors could occur, and safety of residents could be compromised. That’s why, when you employ a system to assist in managing medications, it needs to give you the confidence that you can conduct medication rounds safely and efficiently.
You need a system that does more than just tell you how it can ensure safety and efficiency, you need one that has been independently proven to do so. Let’s take a closer look at a study conducted by the University of Cardiff, where it was independently determined that ATLAS eMAR eradicates 21 out of 23 different error types in medication management in care homes.
What are the 23 error types?
Below are the areas that the study highlighted that stand as areas in which errors could occur across the spectrum of medication management, especially when using paper records, therefore compromising the safety of the resident:
After having quantified the above areas where medication errors could occur, the study also determined that the overall error rate per resident per week ranged from 24 to 48, while the error rate directly relating to medication administration to residents ranged from 4 to 13 per resident per week.
Ultimately, the study showed that care homes that implemented ATLAS eMAR had 21 out of 23 of the error types completely eradicated. Of the two that remained, ‘no administration record’ (where medicine was either administered and not recorded or omitted completely) was still reduced by at least 88%, and ‘as directed’ pertained to any issues directly relating to the prescribing instructions for the medication, which is outside of the control of the system or the care home staff.
Extrapolated out, residents in care homes could have been exposed to an overall error rate of at least 1,250 per resident per year. That could mean just one care home could be dealing with tens of thousands of medication errors per year, all of which being removed with ATLAS eMAR.
Crucial interventions
Implementing the system during the study showed the level of interventions that were made possible with ATLAS eMAR that would not have been possible before. These interventions included attempts to administer medications to the wrong resident, attempts to administer the medication too early, or when it had already been administered, and for an insufficient gap in medications containing paracetamol (less than four hours), or attempts to administer another medication that contained paracetamol.
With ATLAS eMAR, the five rights of medication were always being maintained for each resident. Because of seamless pharmacy integration, the study also showcased the ways in which the system allowed pharmacists to intervene in a proactive and consistent manner to support care homes to ensure medication administration was safe and effective for residents. It also demonstrated how they could intervein to ensure administration records were correct and to flag new medicines or new dosages.
Overall, the study showed that the pharmacists made interventions on 80% of prescriptions for the care homes that they supplied. Half of the prescriptions required an advanced dispensing accuracy check. On 20% of the prescriptions, the pharmacists made clinical checks on new medications or dosages on the prescriptions that did not match records in the care homes.
ATLAS eMAR makes your life easier and keeps your residents safer
Overall, the implementation of ATLAS eMAR during the study showcased that the system all-but eliminated medication errors, vastly improving safety, but also improved efficiency in medication management and therefore greatly reduced wastage in stock, meaning care homes were able to save significant amounts of time and money.
This study stands as a landmark instance whereby electronic medication management systems, especially ATLAS eMAR, were shown to undisputedly improve the level of accuracy and safety in administering medications to residents.
Since this study, ATLAS eMAR has gone from strength to strength. Now, ATLAS eMAR is responsible for avoiding over 12 million medication errors per year. That is the equivalent of preventing one medication error every 2.68 seconds. That level of safeguarding is essential for medication administration – often seen as one of, if not the, most important aspect of ensuring resident health and wellbeing.
