For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
See also: In The Military
Bar-code system has cut
rate of medication errorsQuestion: How is the Department of Veterans Affairs dealing with medication errors that we hear about occasionally?
Answer: Through the use of a bar-coded medication-administration system that uses hand-held scanners, the Honolulu VA's Center for Aging has reduced the occurrence of medication errors. Nurses use notebook computers at a patient's bedside to access the system to validate that the medication about to be administered is the correct one, is the exact dose ordered and is being given at the right time.
The center scans each medication before it is administered. A visual alert is sent by the system when it detects the wrong bar-coded patient identification, wristband, drug dose or administration time, or no active medication order. In addition, the system alerts clinicians to potential adverse drug interactions and allergic reactions. The system has been installed in 163 medical centers nationwide.
The Spark M. Matsunaga Ambulatory Care Center utilizes a bar-code system, including fixed and hand-held scanners, in its pharmacy. Before the medication dispensers are filled, the bar code on the refill bottle is hand-scanned to ensure it is the right medication for that dispenser. All capsule prescriptions are matched on a split computer screen with a picture of what the capsule looks like to a picture of what is in the container.
Q: I last served in Vietnam in 1966 and was diagnosed with lung cancer last December. Am I eligible for service-connected disability benefits based on exposure to Agent Orange?
A: Yes. The law recently changed, eliminating the previous requirement that respiratory cancer become evident within 30 years of a veteran's departure from Vietnam to qualify for the presumption for service connection based on exposure to herbicides.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.Gregg K. Kakesako, who covers military affairs for the Star-Bulletin,
can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
