Use Barcode Scanning to Prevent Errors with Enteral Nutrition Feedings
The safe use of enteral nutrition (EN) in the hospital setting is often taken for granted. However, when viewed closely, the process is often fraught with potential failure points. Challenges exist for patients of all ages, from neonates to older adults. Preterm and critically ill infants and children often require additional calories, protein, or other nutrients due to higher metabolic demands. Consequently, unfortified human milk or standard ready-to-feed infant/pediatric formulas may not provide the level of nutrients required. Therefore, hospitals often add fortifiers (e.g., calories, protein, vitamins) to prepared feedings or human milk, or they use powders, concentrates, and/or modulars (i.e., formulas with modifiable nutrient amounts) to create facility-prepared formulas. Occasionally, adult patients require specialty-prepared formulas and/or the use of modular components as well. Similar to medication compounding, at any step of the process, practitioners may inadvertently use the wrong, expired, or recalled ingredients, putting the patient at risk. Even when pre-made EN formulas are available, there is still the risk of a practitioner administering a wrong, expired, or recalled formula.
Suzanne Smith