Medication Administration (Research Paper) - Essay Example

Medication Administration Table of Contents I. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………… 3 II. Literature Review ………………………………………………………………. 3 a. A Brief Overview on Medication Administration Errors ..……. 3 b. Factors that Contribute to the High Number of Medication Administration Errors ……………………………………………… 4 c. The Impact of Medication Administration towards the Health and Overall Wellness of the Patients …………………… 4 d.

Nursing Ethics behind the Administration of Medication on Patients …………………………………………….. 5 III. Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………… 5 References ………………………………………………………………………………. 6 - 7 Introduction The administration of medication on patients is one of the most sensitive responsibilities of the nurses. As much as 44,000 – 98,000 Americans die due to adverse drug reactions (ADRs) caused by medical administration errors.

(Leung et al., 2008) Between the years 1990 to 2002, a total of 426 medication-related malpractice cases were submitted to the court against the registered nurses who administer wrong medications to the patients in the United States. (National Practitioner Data Bank - Annual Report, 2002) For this study, the researcher will conduct a short literature review on the importance of proper medication administration and the impact of medication administration towards the health and overall wellness of the patients.

Prior to the conclusion, the researcher will discuss the nursing ethics in relation to the proper nursing management on the administration of medication on patients. Literature Review A Brief Overview on Medication Administration Errors There are many death cases due to medication administration error. In fact, more than fifty percent of the prescribed drugs have a high probability of resulting to an adverse effect to the health of the patients. (McDonald & Peterson, 2008) The study of Cook et al. (2004) reveals that medication errors such as administering a drug to another patient, wrong time of administering the drugs, miscalculation of drug doses, and/or administering the drug using a wrong mode of delivery.

In other cases, human errors in may occur at the time of the drug prescription by the patients’ physician such as prescribing two or more drugs that has side effects when administered to patients or prescribing unsuitable drugs to patients with specific allergies; transcribing the prescribe drug like errors due to misreading the doctor’s written prescription; delivering the drug to patients such as failure to interpret the instructions written on the medication bottles; and the administration of the drugs related to wrong dosages.

(Davis et al., 2006; Lassetter & Warnick, 2003; Lesar, 1998; Raju et al., 1989; Vincer et al., 1989) For example: administering lidocaine IVP to patients with third-degree heart blockage could result to a cardiovascular collapse. (Lenehan, 2004) Factors that Contribute to the High Number of Medication Administration Errors It is important to determine the risk factors of medication administration errors in order for health care providers to find a prevention solution. (Zandieh et al., 2008) Cultural factor such as limited English proficiency (LEP), the patients’ socio-economic status (SES) in relation to educational attainment are some of the main factor that could result to medication administration errors.

(Flores et al., 2005) In some cases, the perceived health problem could also cause the same problem. (Stevens & Shi, 2003) Aside from the cultural and socio-economic factors, a simple carelessness is enough for the nurses to commit an error when administering drugs to patients. The Impact of Proper Medication Administration towards the Health and Overall Wellness of the Patients Negligence or the failure of nurses to properly administer medications on patients could lead to a serious health complications or death on the patients.

Administering a wrong drug on patients could cause them a permanent harm or disability. (Lenehan, 2004) In some cases, the patient could die from the negligence of the health care professionals. Nursing Ethics behind the Administration of Medication on Patients Among the common ethical considerations when administrating drugs to patients include autonomy or informed consent, non-maleficence, veracity, and justice. (Thompson, Melia, & Boyd, 2000; Beauchamp & Childress, 1994) Prior to administering a prescribed drug to the patient, nurses should first inform the patient with the purpose and procedure on the mode of the delivery of medication.

In fact, ‘informed consent’ is considered a standard operating procedure of the health care service prior to the start of any treatment, physical investigation, or providing personal care for the patient. (DOH, 2001a, p. 2; DOH, 2001b; p. 1) Suggestions and Recommendations It is necessary for health care providers to build a safer health care system in order to avoid human errors related to the administration of drugs in each patient. (Kohn, Corrigan, & Donaldson, 1999) In order to avoid future medication administration errors, Lenehan (2004) strongly advice the nurses to keep a pocket-sized guide on reported medical errors in order to avoid committing the same mistake in the future.

Conclusion Part of the nursing profession is to provide the patients with proper care based on the best of our ability. In line with our profession, it is but ethical to administer the right doses and right drugs to the patients. In order to avoid any legal problems with regards to the administration of drugs, nurses should keep themselves up-to-date with the nursing ethics and law. References: Beauchamp, T., & Childress, J. (1994). Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 4th Edition. In Leung et al. (ed) Nursing Management of Medication Errors.

New York: Oxford University Press. Davis, T., Wolf, M., Bass, P. I., et al. (2006). Low Literacy Impairs Comprehension Prescription Drug Warning Labels. In Zandieh et al. (ed) Risk Factors in Preventable Adverse Drug Events in Pediatric Outpatients. J Gen Intern Med , 21:847 - 851. DOH. (2001a). Retrieved September 18, 2007, from Reference Guide to Consent for Examination or Treatment: http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4019079.pdf DOH. (2001b). Retrieved September 18, 2007, from Seeking Consent: Working with Older People: http://www.dh.gov.

uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4009325 Flores, G., Abreu, M., et al. (2005). Limited English Proficiency, Primary Language at Home, and Disparities in Childrens Health Care: How Language Barriers are Measured Matters. In Zandieh et al. (ed) Risk Factors in Preventable Adverse Drug Events in Pediatric Outpatients. Public Health Rep , 120:418 - 430. Kohn, L., Corrigan, J., & Donaldson, M. (1999). To Err is Huma: Building a Safer Health Care System. In Leung et al. (eds) Nursing Management of Medication Errors.

Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Lassetter, J., & Warnick, M. (2003). Medical Errors, Drug-Related Problems and Medication Errors. In Leung et al. (ed) Nursing Management of Medical Errors. J Nurs Care Qual , 18:175 - 181. Lenehan, G. P. (2004). Made a Med Error? Tell Everyone! J Emerg Nurs , 30:467 - 469. Lesar, T. (1998). Errors in the Use of Medication Dosage Equations. In Leung et al. (ed) Nursing Management of Medical Errors. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med , 152:340 - 344. Leung, A. L., Ng, W. I., Ko, K. K., & Ung, V. H. (2008).

Nursing Management of Medication Errors. Nursing Ethics , 15(1):28 - 39. McDonald, M. V., & Peterson, L. E. (2008). Finding Success in Medication Management. Home Health Care Management & Practice , 20(2):135 - 140. National Practitioner Data Bank - Annual Report. (2002). US DHHS. Raju, T., Kecskes, S., Thornton, J., Perry, M., & Feldman, S. (1989). Medication Errors in Neo-natal and Paediatric Intensive Care Units. In Leung et al. (ed) Nursing Management of Medical Errors. Lancet , 2:374 - 376.

Stevens, G., & Shi, L. (2003). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Primary Care Experiences of Children: A Review of the Literature. In Zandieh et al. (ed) Risk Factors in Preventable Adverse Drug Events in Pediatric Outpatients. Med Care Res Rev , 60:3 - 30. Thompson, I., Melia, M., & Boyd, M. (2000). Nursing Ethics. Fourth Edition. In Leung et al. (ed) Nursing Management of Medication Errors. Edinburgh: Harcourt. pp. 81 - 83. Vincer, M., Murray, J., Yuill, A., Allen, A., Evans, J., & Stinson, D. (1989). Drug Errors and Incidents in a Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit.

In Luk et al. (ed) Nursing Management of Medication Errors. Am J Dis Child , 143:737 - 740. Zandieh, S. O., Goldmann, D. A., Keohane, C. A., et al. (2008). Risk Factors in Preventable Adverse Drug Events in Pediatric Outpatients. J Pediatr , 152:225 - 231.