Medication Errors Essay
Medication errors are a major preventable health issue in hospitals, extended care facilities, and home health agencies. Errors in medication administration can contribute to allergic reactions, hospital acquired disease or disability, and possibly even death. As part of the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) initiative, there are several competency areas for nurses to focus on to better patient care. In regards to medication errors, informatics and teamwork are essential practices to ensure medication is given with the utmost regard for the eventual health of the individual receiving the treatment. Teamwork and informatics are linked for the purpose of avoiding medication errors because medications are prescribed by doctors, administered …show more content…
Documentation is critical so that other healthcare employees can do their job effectively. Potter and Perry (2013) state it is important,” to be aware of the side effects that missing doses have on a patient (e.g. with hypertension or diabetes)” (Potter and Perry, 2013, p. 591). In addition, it is the job of the prescribing doctor to enter the prescription information into the health management system correctly so the pharmacist can get the prescribed medication to the client. The pharmacist must also make sure all data is entered correctly to ensure all labels are accurate so the nurses can do their job. Since medication administration is still very much a human run task, using technology correctly is an integral part of preventing medication mistakes and being a good team-mate. Being able to depend on each team-mate to do their part of the job is integral to the success of the patient. Teamwork and informatics are important for successful medication administration. Many medication mistakes are preventable using the informatics provided by the hospital or clinic. Also, valued team members should be available to clarify any medication questions for the safety of the client. In conclusion, the use of these two important competencies are a win-win in terms of medication administration. When teams work together and document effectively less errors occur,
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Electronic Prescription Errors
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Electronic Health Records (EHR)
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795 Words | 4 PagesThe patients will be able to see the nursing staff checking for a variety of things before administrating medication. This will also allow patients to have a peace of mind knowing that everything was checked of before given medicine. The plan will eliminate giving the wrong medication to the incorrect patient. Giving the nurses ample amount of time without rushing to gather all the necessary supplies in a quiet zone. The patients will receive an explanation of why the nurse needs to step out to gather there medication.
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171 Words | 1 PagesReporting 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).
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Pharmacy Malpractice: Falls Within The Common Law Concept Of Negligence
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Essay On Medication Errors In Nursing
1497 Words | 6 PagesThese competencies include quality improvement, safety, informatics, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, and patient-centered care (Cronenwett et al., 2007). Each competency has its own knowledge, skills, and attitudes that when applied to medication administration, help warrant the best results. In order to
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