Enhancing Children's Safety by Barcoding Implementation at Breast Milk Feeding

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Healthcare technology
• Patient safety

Background:

• Hospitalized newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) often require enteral nutrition via orogastric or nasogastric tubes.
• Nursing staff manage the complex tasks of human milk fractionation, storage, and administration.
• Human milk, while optimal, poses disease transmission risks if not handled properly, highlighting the need for stringent safety protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation process of breast milk barcoding technology in an academic tertiary hospital.
• To enhance patient safety during the administration of human milk to vulnerable newborns.
• To leverage health information technology to prevent adverse events related to enteral feeding.

Main Methods:

• Detailed description of the steps undertaken to integrate barcoding technology into the breast milk feeding workflow.
• Focus on the verification of patient identity and prescription accuracy using barcoding prior to milk administration.
• Implementation within an academic tertiary hospital setting.

Main Results:

• Successful integration of breast milk barcoding technology into clinical practice.
• Demonstrated ability of barcoding to improve accuracy in patient identification and prescription verification.
• Enhanced safety measures for human milk administration in the NICU.

Conclusions:

• Barcoding technology is an effective tool for improving patient safety in neonatal enteral nutrition.
• The implementation process provides a model for other institutions seeking to enhance breast milk administration safety.
• Health information technology, specifically barcoding, plays a crucial role in preventing adverse events in NICU settings.