| Summary: | In the hospital setting, medication errors represent and significant proportion of all medical errors. These errors can lead to adverse drug events and can increase length of stay in hospitals. Errors can occur at prescription, transcription, dispensation, and administration. Human error is an important factor in all stages of potential medication errors and thus information technology (IT) solutions are often sought in order to mitigate the risk of human error. Transcription errors can occur when patient files and medication orders are being updated from week to week and may be particularly susceptible to error due to healthcare provider fatigue (e.g. files being updated at the end of a shift). Electronic health records, computerized order entry systems, bar-code medication administration (BCMA) systems, and electronic medication administration records (eMARs) are IT solutions that are often considered in order to reduce such error. Electronically generated medication administration records (MARs), where the physician's medication order is entered into the pharmacy system and the administration record is printed out and put into the patient file as opposed to updating by hand, and eMARs, whereby elements of the prescribing and administration process includes bar code scans and digital documentation, may be helpful in reducing transcription and administration errors. The current review seeks to examine the clinical effectiveness of electronically generated MARs and eMARs in preventing medication transcription errors in the acute care setting
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