Implementation of a New Traceability Process for Breast Milk Feeding

Many newborns at the neonatal intensive care unit are unable to feed themselves, and receive human milk through enteric nutrition devices such as orogastric or nasogastric probes. The mothers extract their milk, and the nursing staff is responsible for the fractionation, storage and administration when prescribed by physicians. It is very important to remind that it is a bodily fluid that carries the risk of disease transmission if misused. Health information technologies can enhance patient safety by avoiding preventable adverse events. Barcoding technology could track every step of the milk manipulation. Many processes must be addressed to implement it. Our goal is to explain our planning and implementation process in an academic tertiary hospital.