Greg Piper here with another shift briefing regarding Medication Administration.

Q: I was asked how Medical Manager benefits corrections professional, as opposed to using a paper MAR or medical administration record.

A: Let’s compare the use of SPARTAN versus paper logging for medication administration. The SPARTAN allows you to have a date/time stamped cloud-based digital record of medication distribution and allows you to put the onus upon the inmate who's taking the medication and off the person who's distributing it. With MAR paper logs, the onus can be placed on the person distributing the medication.

How does GUARDIAN RFID's SPARTAN differ from MAR paper logging?

Paper Logging:

Typically, you give the medication to the offender, then the person distributing it signs that MAR paper log. This process has been in use for years, but does it capture that legally defensible data you’re looking for? Are the records for a particular inmate easily retrievable?

Medication Manager on the SPARTAN

Scanning an inmate’s wristband or ID card brings up their name and profile on the SPARTAN. Determine that the medications that were prescribed to them are the same listed on the Spartan as are in front of us. Offer the offender those medications, then they choose to accept or decline. They then sign for that decision electronically, right on the Spartan. You now have digital verification through a scan of a wristband or an ID card, have verified the medicines are there, and an inmate signature to back that all up. It's not a signature by your staff because your staff has already logged into the device, so we know which staff member is present. You also have the inmates signature and that's who's really taking the medication. That level of importance is placed upon the person taking the medication, not just the person giving it.

Capturing information on the SPARTAN adds another level of safety and security put upon one of the most important areas in the facility, which of course is medical and the distribution of medication to your offenders. We know how important it is. We want to make sure our staff is safe, because as I always say, that's the more most important thing. Let's lower that level of risk. Let's make sure this is just another great way that we protect our staff.

As always, get your team home safe.

Defensible eMars reporting. No more paper logs. No more MARs.

On average, 40% of inmates have a prescription medication. From complaints of not getting their medications to delays in getting their medications, investigating medication-based issues can consume a great deal of your time, resources, and focus.

Watch Medication Manager in action at Buffalo County Sherrif’s Office

"Documentation is key in a correctional facility," according to Chief Deputy Dan Schleusener, Buffalo Co. Sheriff's Office (Kearney, Nebraska). The Buffalo Co. Jail team migrated away from paper logs and an iButton-based guard tour system to streamline cell checks, medication administration records, and inmate activity logging in real-time to maximize their defensibility.