How a new technology system helps Texas paramedics avoid dosage errors

First responders in Texas are using a new technology system that helps lower the risk of human dosage errors when giving medicine, NBC-affiliate TV station KAGS reports.

The system, called Handtevy, takes the age and weight of the patient and gives providers the exact measurement they need so responders don't have to do mental math in high-stress situations. 

Adam Gallagher, an assistant EMT Director in Robertson, County, Texas, said the system helps reduce the risk of human error. 

"You don't want to make medication errors," he said. "You don't want to underdose and you don't want to overdose. So by having it all laid out, knowing the concentration and the volume of the drug, you're taking that probability out." 

The system also combines all the paperwork for a patient, including when a call is placed into dispatch and the different drugs that were administered to a patient.

"You have to relieve the crews of the decisions they don't need to make so they can be safe and make critical decisions so someone else can have another day on the planet," said Billy Rice, a supervisor for emergency rescue service company Air Med 12.

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