Medication Safety & Technology: Reducing Errors, Improving Outcomes

Presenter: Josie Quick, CPhT-Adv, CSPT, CHW
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2027
Time: 3 pm ET | 2 pm CT | 1 pm MT | 12 pm PT
Duration: 60 minutes

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Course Description

Medication errors remain one of the most significant patient safety challenges across healthcare settings. As healthcare organizations continue to adopt advanced technologies, clinical systems have become essential tools for preventing errors, improving workflow efficiency, and supporting better patient outcomes. However, technology alone is not the solution. The effectiveness of these systems depends on thoughtful design, optimization, maintenance, and collaboration among pharmacy, nursing, provider, informatics, and information technology teams.

This webinar will explore how clinical systems support medication safety throughout the medication-use process, from order entry and pharmacist verification to medication dispensing and bedside administration. Presented from the perspective of clinical applications and healthcare technology, this session will provide insights into the often unseen work that occurs behind the scenes to ensure medications can be ordered, verified, documented, and administered safely. Attendees will gain a better understanding of how system design, workflow optimization, clinical decision support, and ongoing technology maintenance contribute to safer medication use and improved patient outcomes.

Participants will learn about common causes of medication errors and the technology safeguards used to mitigate risk, including clinical decision support, barcode medication administration, electronic medication administration records, order sets, and workflow automation. The session will also examine how clinical applications teams contribute to medication safety through system configuration, testing, troubleshooting, workflow optimization, and ongoing maintenance of medication-related technologies.

Through real-world examples and practical applications, attendees will gain a better understanding of how clinical systems create multiple layers of protection to reduce the likelihood of medication errors and enhance patient care. The webinar will also discuss emerging trends in healthcare technology and opportunities for healthcare professionals to leverage clinical applications to improve safety, efficiency, and outcomes within their organizations.

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Learning Outcomes

• Describe common causes of medication errors across the medication-use process.
• Explain how clinical systems and technology support medication safety initiatives.
• Recognize opportunities to leverage clinical applications to improve patient outcomes and workflow efficiency.
• Apply practical strategies to enhance medication safety within their own organizations.
• Identify key technology safeguards that support safe medication use from order entry through bedside administration.
• Describe how clinical applications teams support the design, maintenance, testing, and optimization of medication-related workflows.
• Evaluate how clinical decision support, barcode medication administration, and other integrated technologies contribute to a closed-loop medication management process.
• Discuss emerging trends in healthcare technology and their potential impact on medication safety and patient outcomes.

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Areas Covered in the Session

• Medication safety challenges and the impact of medication errors on patient outcomes.
• The medication-use process and key points where errors can occur from order entry through bedside administration.
• The role of clinical systems and healthcare technology in supporting medication safety initiatives.
• Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) and its role in reducing prescribing and transcription errors.
• Clinical Decision Support (CDS) tools, including allergy checks, drug interaction screening, duplicate therapy alerts, and dose range checking.
• Standardization through order sets, protocols, and evidence-based workflows to promote safe medication use.
• Pharmacy verification workflows and how technology supports clinical review and medication safety checks.
• Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA) and its role in verifying the right patient, medication, dose, route, and time.
• Electronic Medication Administration Records (eMAR) and documentation tools that support safe medication administration practices.
• Closed-loop medication management and the integration of ordering, verification, dispensing, administration, and documentation systems.
• The role of Clinical Applications teams in system build, maintenance, testing, optimization, and medication-related workflow design.
• Common technology and workflow challenges, including alert fatigue, barcode scanning issues, and system configuration considerations.
• Future innovations in medication safety technology, including artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, interoperability, and advanced clinical decision support tools.
• Interactive Q&A Session

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Recommended Participants

• Pharmacy professionals
• Nursing professionals
• Patient safety & quality
• Healthcare IT / Informatics
• Physicians and clinical providers
• Hospital Pharmacists
• Clinical Pharmacists Physicians
• Quality Assurance Managers in Pharma
• Laboratory Technicians
• Analytical Chemists
• Bioprocess Scientists
• Quality & Regulatory Executives
• Clinical Research Scientist.

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About the Presenter  

Josie Quick is a Pharmacy Clinical Applications Support Analyst with Sanford Health in North Dakota, where she supports clinical applications and helps ensure pharmacy technology solutions align with patient care, pharmacy workflows, and operational needs. She also serves as a PRN Acute Care Pharmacy Technician III at Essentia Health, working in the IV room and supporting sterile compounding operations.

Since 2004, Josie has gained experience across a wide range of practice settings, including retail pharmacy, tele pharmacy, long-term care, nuclear pharmacy, acute care, and pharmacy informatics. Her diverse background has provided her with a comprehensive understanding of pharmacy operations and the evolving role of pharmacy technicians in healthcare.

Josie earned her Certified Sterile Compounding Technician (CSPT) credential and later achieved the Certified Pharmacy Technician Advanced (CPhT-Adv) designation. Committed to professional growth and lifelong learning, she currently holds nine certifications through the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB), reflecting her dedication to advancing her knowledge and expertise across multiple areas of pharmacy practice. She is a passionate advocate for technician growth and advancement, encouraging pharmacy technicians to pursue advanced certifications, expand their scope of practice, and embrace opportunities for continuous professional development. She possesses an associate degree and a bachelor's degree and is actively pursuing a Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) to further advance her expertise in healthcare leadership and administration.

Josie’s professional interests include pharmacy informatics, medication-use technology, sterile compounding, patient and medication safety, technician workforce development, workforce well-being, leadership, and optimizing pharmacy workflows to improve both patient outcomes and operational efficiency. She is committed to advancing the pharmacy profession through innovation, education, collaboration, and initiatives that support the well-being, development, and long-term success of the pharmacy workforce.

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