Pharmacists play a critical role in ensuring that patients receive safe and effective treatment. To do this, they must be able to analyze and evaluate complex medical information to make informed decisions. Critical writing is an essential skill for pharmacists to develop, as it allows them to analyze evidence, make informed decisions, and communicate their findings. In this essay, we will explore specific situations in which they can apply critical writing in pharmacy to benefit the pharmacist, the patient, and the healthcare system.
One situation where they can apply critical writing in the pharmacy is drug reviews. Pharmacists must evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications based on the evidence. Critical writing can help pharmacists to
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This response involves reviewing research studies, evaluating the quality of the evidence, and synthesizing the findings to develop recommendations for healthcare providers. These guidelines can help ensure that patients receive safe and effective treatment and can improve the quality of care provided.
Another situation in which they can apply critical writing in pharmacy is when developing patient education materials. Pharmacists often need to provide patients with information about their medications. Critical writing can help pharmacists to develop patient education materials that are clear, concise, and based on the best evidence. This can help ensure that patients understand their medications and can take them safely and effectively.
When patients experience adverse events related to their medications, pharmacists need to investigate the cause and provide recommendations to prevent future incidents. Critical writing can help pharmacists to analyze the event, review the evidence, and develop recommendations for healthcare providers. This can help improve patient safety and prevent future adverse
Healthcare professionals must talk to their patients about possible side-effects of drugs they are taking and make sure they understand what can happen. In doing so, patients may start to understand why something is happening to them and it is a normal side-effect, which can not only lead to trust from the patients to providers, but can lead to the passing of knowledge from one to another which may prevent future
Barry insists that when patients consult with their doctors about the side effect, they are only treated with yet another drug; this is known as a drug “cascade.” She goes on to claim that tens of millions of people suffer each day due to the side effects of drugs. Also, she acknowledges that adverse side effects cause for 4.5 million emergency room and doctor’s office visits per year. Moreover, Barry acknowledges that serious drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of hospital deaths, only topped by stroke, cancer, and heart disease. The facts Barry offers are notable because of the cyclical effect drug use imposes on patients: a patient takes drugs, the patient has side effects which land him or her in the emergency room or hospital, the patient is prescribed new or “better” drugs, the patient continues to have side
Medication errors are preventable adverse events and costly to patients, insurance companies and health care organizations (Institute of Medicine, 2006). It is estimated that for every adverse drug event that occurs in a hospital, adds over 8,000 to the hospital stay (Institute of Medicine, 2006). One of the essential components in reducing medication error is a collaborative partnership with the patient and healthcare providers to facilitate communication. Patient education regarding risks, side effects, drug interactions and contraindications must be thoroughly reviewed with the patient (Institute of Medicine, 2006). The use of technology for prescribing, dispensing and to obtain detailed information regarding
Reporting medication errors is beneficial to improve the learning process for nurses. The factors of workload, ineffective communication, and distraction all contribute to medication errors (Sears et al., 2013). Nurses often excuse the behavior of colleagues when a medication error occurs, or nurses will pass the buck to a senior nurse to report the medication error (Haw, Stubbs and Dickens, 2014). Implementing a no blame policy for reporting medication errors, and providing nurses with the knowledge and training to report medication errors will result in an increase of medication errors reported. References Haw, C., Stubbs, J. and Dickens, G. (2014).
Researcher had mentioned that every year thousands of people die due to medication errors (Hashemi, 2007). There are several studies done on medication error and these studies had shown that one of the reason why medication error takes place is because nurses are found to approach their own colleagues for information to assist in decision making rather than searching for evidence based resources (Thompson, et. al. 2001, Estabrooks, et.
The clinical pharmacology unit in the University Hospital of Verona Italy have published a journal on medication errors specifically focusing on prescribing faults and prescription errors. In this journal they have stated that “any step in the prescribing process can generate errors which can be fatal and can affect patients safety and quality of healthcare”. Poor handwriting, bad communication between doctors and nurses and poor knowledge of drug and its side effects are all listed in this journal as errors within the prescribing process. The author of the journal suggests that “immediate review of prescriptions should be performed with the assistance of a hospital pharmacist” to prevent errors in the prescription stage and to increase patient safety. Errors within administration are also common.
Recognizing, acknowledging, and understanding medication safety is important when administering medications. Understanding which medications are high-risk ones, being familiar with the medications being given, remembering the five most important rights when administering medications, communicating clearly, developing checking habits, and reporting the medication errors will lead to safe outcomes for the residents. However, errors do occur from a lack of experience, rushing, distractions, fatigue, doing too many things at once, not double checking, poor communication, and lack of team work. It is not only the staff that commit errors, but also the work environment that contributes to the medication error. Two examples are poor reporting systems
Medication errors are the leading cause of patient injuries in hospitals today. These preventable mistakes lengthen hospital stays, increase inpatient expenses, and cause over seven thousand deaths
Mrs. Burns should have been asked every drug she takes and at what doses on admission, especially due to her being alert and orientated. The name on the medication list should have been matched and identified to Ms. Burn’s name, identification number and other forms of identification. Furthermore, the physician, who reordered the medications, should have assessed the patient before reordering the medication list. He would have realized by assessing the patient physically and asking the patient questions, that they had the medication list did not match her health history or symptoms. In addition, the Nurses administering the medications should have questioned the orders by the physician.
To create an environment where these errors are a rare occurrence, all healthcare professionals must dedicate themselves to implementing QSEN's six core competencies each and every day. These professionals must also speak up when they see room for improvement in their workplace. Regardless of the healthcare setting or demographic of patients, safe outcomes are the purpose of providing patient-centered care. Since nurses are the largest subgroup of healthcare professionals, their ability to make strides towards improved medication administration is undeniable. As the nursing code of ethics states, nurses have the duty to protect the health and safety of those in their care (Winland-Brown, Lachman, O'Connor Swanson, 2015).
In this case the concurrent review was chosen. As discussed previously in the assignment it was decided that drug kardex documentation would be audited. A drug kardex, also known as drug prescription or drug script is defined by the World Health Organisation (2002) as ‘’an instruction from the prescriber to the dispenser’’. In this instance the prescriber will be identified as any doctor in the hospital setting with prescriptive authority and the dispenser can be identified as any registered general nurse.
Medication use is potentially dangerous. Polypharmacy is increasing, and makes it harder to keep track of side effects and interactions and of potentially inappropriate drug combinations. “The risk of serious consequences, hospitalization, and death due to medication errors increases with patients’ age and number of medications (Scand J Prim Health Care, 2012)”. For example, the GP is supposed to monitor the patient's regular medication, but does not always do so. Lack of monitoring and keeping track of patients’ medication use is a main cause when a patient is given inappropriate drugs.
Thankfully, my father recovered well, but he suffered and his hospital stay was prolonged as a result of a preventable error. It was then and there that I realized the capabilities of pharmacists in the healthcare team, in this specific incident, through preventing drug – related problems. After this experience I took it upon myself to fulfill my potentials and contribute to the provision of the best possible healthcare to my patients. One of the courses that I highly enjoyed during my undergraduate
Evidence-based resources/books are available to prevent medication error, strategies to be used to ensure correct medication administration and high alert medication require extra caution when administering can improve the student nurse’s ability to think analytically and solve medication administration problems. The Nursing student must be taught math calculation for medication administration often. Adequate practice with real problem solving can effectively reinforce these skills and provide the
In pharmacy practice, there are always multiple solutions for a single problem. Practitioner can suggest on the medication and dosage regimen, yet the final decision should lie on the hand of patient. (Robert J.C. et al., 2012) Most of the time, patient does not understand his/her own medical condition and medication plan, let alone making decision on it. Shared decision making, patient activation and broader patient engagement can significantly improve the treatment outcomes.