The descriptions for this measure come from source: www.leapfroggroup.org.

"Bar code medication administration (BCMA) systems are electronic scanning systems that intercept medication errors at the point of administration. Using a special bar code on each patient’s ID bracelet, hospital staff can scan the patient’s bracelet and the bar code on the medication itself. If the bar codes don’t match, this signals that the wrong medication could be given to the patient. To score well on this measure, hospitals must demonstrate they use bar code technology effectively across all units of the facility."

About this measure

Hospitals that fully meet the Leapfrog standard have implemented BCMA technology in 100 percent of units, have 95 percent compliance, has all seven types of decision support, and all five structures to prevent workarounds.

Scores are reported as:

1 = Willing to Report
2 = Some Progress
3 = Substantial Progress
4 = Fully Meets Standards

Note: In this case, a higher number is better.