Safe Medication Administration
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Hospital Care
Country
United States of America
Publishing Organisation
The Leapfrog Group
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Safety
Setting-Specific Domain
Medications and Medication Management
Defining Attributes
Definition
The percentage of medication administrations where both the patient and medication were scanned in units where bar code medication administration (BCMA) systems is being used.
Numerator
The number of medication administrations that had both the patient and the medication scanned during administration with a BCMA system that is linked to the electronic medication administration record (eMAR).
Denominator
The number of scannable medication administrations during the reporting period in those units that utilise BCMA.
Exclusions
None
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
None
Stratifications
None
Collection and Reporting Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Surveys
Data Collection Methods
Leapfrog Hospital Survey
Frequency of Data Collection
Annually
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
365
Reporting Methods
Publicly reported at: ratings.leapfroggroup.org/
Reporting Frequency
Annually
Reporting Frequency in Days
365
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
Yes
Source and Reference Attributes
Link to Measurement Tools
Domain
Medication-Related
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Can the Quality Indicator be Readily Implemented at a Population Level in Australia Given its Current Data Landscape?
Implementation of this quality indicator was not assessed.
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
23 July 2025
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Date Modified 10 June 2026