Medication errors are the leading cause of preventable morbidity and death in hospitals (Adams). In fact, approximately 1.5 million Americans are injured each year as a result of medication errors in hospitals (Foote). Not only are medication errors harmful to patients, they are also very costly to hospitals. Medication errors cost the US healthcare system $3.5 billion per year (Foote). Errors in medication administration occur when any of the five medication administration rights are omitted. The five rights are: a) the right dose, b) the right drug, c) the right patient, d) the right route of administration, and e) the right time of administration (Adams). Medication administration is an essential part of the nursing profession, occupying up to forty percent of a nurse's time providing nursing care (Fowler). Therefore, nurses are usually held responsible for medication errors. To improve the safety of a vital aspect of nursing, barcode scanning has been introduced to reduce errors in medication administration. Although barcode scanning has advantages, it also has disadvantages. BackgroundBar code-assisted medication administration (BCMA) has replaced traditional paper-based medication administration (PBMA) systems in some healthcare settings. health. The objective of the BCMA system is to verify the five rights of drug administration, i.e. “the right patient receives the right dose of the right drug through the right route and at the right time (Grissinger)”. The process begins when the pharmacy ensures that all medications are correctly labeled and that all medications have appropriate barcodes identifying the name, dose, and form of the medication. Patient...... middle of paper ......nistration to improve medication safety. Nursing Ecomonics, 26(3), 207-210.Mims, E., Tucker, C., Carlson, R., Schneider, R., & Bagby, J. (2009). Quality control program for barcode-assisted drug administration. American Journal of Health System Pharmacy, 66, 1125-1131. Adams, MP and Koch, RW (2009). Pharmacology: links with nursing practice. (1 ed.). Upple Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (ADD PAGE NUMBERS TO CITATION) Grissinger, M. and Globus, NJ (2004). How technology affects your risk of medication errors.Nursing2004, 34(1), 36-41. Retrieved from www.nursingcenter.comRobinson, F.P., Gorman, G., Slimmer, L., & Yudkowsky, R. (2010). Perceptions of effective and ineffective nurse-physician communication in hospitals.Nursing Forum, 45(3), 206-216.Henneman, EA (2010). Patient safety and technology. Intensive care nurse, February(2010), 8-12.