Prevention of Medication Errors and Safety Measures - Assignment Example

Running head: Prevention of Medication Errors and Safety Measures Medication errors have been categorized as prescribing, dispensing and administrative errors as they can occur at any of the above stages and lead to serious or even fatal complications in some cases (Patel & Balkrishnan, 2010). Though medication errors mostly happen by chance and physicians or nurses concerned do not deliberately commit the errors, it is vital to prevent their occurrences as they often lead to adverse drug reactions. This can be achieved in all hospital settings by identifying the major cause for such errors and finding the right ways to control their recurrence. In case of any occurrence of medication errors reporting them to the concerned authority is also extremely important as it will help in educating the health care professionals, the patient and other medical staff about these errors. Some of the methods that can be used to prevent medical errors are through education, use of electronic technology such as bar coding, electronic prescription record, automated medication dispensing devices and internal quality control protocols (Medication Errors, 2010). Giving the right medication to the right patient is the most vital step in any hospital setting. There are a wide range of factors that could contribute to medication errors. A large number of medication errors occur during the prescription stage due to wrong interpretation of the drug prescribed, missing information about a drug or its dosage, allergic or other drug reactions of the drug and the use of physician’s sample medication. Improper communication about the details and dosage regimen of a medication by physicians to the patient can also lead to errors. Intake of over-the-counter medications can also lead to medical problems when the correct drug is not taken. In a hospital setting failure or omission of drugs prescribed also constitute a form of medication errors (Medication Errors, 2010). Another major issue that has contributed widely to medication errors is the lack of knowledge regarding the drug prescribed to the patient. Both the medical fraternity as well as the pharmacists involved in drug dispensing could be involved in such cases. Drug manufacturers also play a major role in this regard as proper manufacturing, packaging and labeling of drugs would help in preventing potential medications errors. Another important requirement is the right storage of medicines and accounting for the stocks at appropriate intervals. In many cases drugs are delivered to the patient by means of certain devices such as tubes and inhalers. In such cases it is necessary to ensure that the equipment is sterile and also monitor the system constantly (Anderson & Townsend, 2010). In addition to the above potential errors, environmental issues such as increased workload of the medical staff, distractions while procuring or administering drugs to the patient and fatigue and ill-health of the caregivers can also lead to grave medication errors. In one hospital setting a “no interruption zone” has been instituted in places where nurses procure medications from automated dispensing machines. Such actions will facilitate better concentration from the staff and hence fewer error risks (Anderson & Townsend, 2010). One of the main methods by which medication errors can be prevented is through proper and adequate information about drugs which needs to be provided to nurses and other medical staff attending the patient, pharmacists in charge of dispensing medications and to the patient themselves. Nursing staff and others dealing with medications should be constantly updated about new medicines procured by the facility as well on potential medication errors that could occur (Anderson & Townsend, 2010). In addition, physicians should educate every patient on the risks and benefits of the drugs prescribed to them and clarify the doubts of the patient regarding the long-term effects and dosage regimen of the drugs (Patel & Balkrishnan, 2010). Awareness on errors occurring in other facilities should also be created as it will help to provide a broader picture about the issue. In cases where negligence has been found to be the major cause of the error strict action needs to be ensued against the concerned staff as they will serve as a caution for other members. Nurses and other caregivers should always bear in mind the five important rights while administering medicines that include identifying the right patient and the drug and administering the same in the correct dosage at the right time and via the right route (Anderson & Townsend, 2010; Patel & Balkrishnan, 2010). The use of information technology has also become a key factor for reducing errors related to medication over the past years. In addition, use of these systems reduced the financial overload as are lessen the complications in healthcare management both in the administrative as well as with the medical fraternity. Some of the major uses of information technology include computerized physician order entry that will help to reduce prescription errors, automated dispensing machines which reduce potential errors that may arise during dispensing of medications in a patient-specific manner with the help of bar-codes and the use of electronic prescription records by pharmacists that contain all the required information about the drugs prescribed to the patient and its related information. Administration of medicines using the bar-codes scanned from the patient’s identification bracelet will help to detect any errors corresponding to the identity, drug and dosage, as well as the route and time of delivery of the medicine to the patient. In addition, online drug utilization reviews can also be used by pharmacists to access the drugs prescribed to a patient and determine the appropriateness of the drugs with regard to the patient’s health status prior to dispensing the drugs. In case a patient has already been taking medication for a particular condition prior to hospital admission use of electronic medical reconciliation of their medication lists will help in compiling a complete list of the patient’s medications. The introduction of electronic health records in many hospital settings also provide access to their medication lists and enables patients to know about drug information and also about possible allergic reactions or drug-drug interaction effects. This information could be shared immediately with their physicians and a suitable alternative can be prescribed (Medication Errors, 2010). Considering the wide range of benefits derived from implementing information technology systems in a healthcare setting, suitable financial incentives should be provided to smaller facilities to help them implement the technology and allow their patients to experience the benefits of the system. It is also necessary to encourage the medical staff to report all kinds of medication related errors irrespective of whether the patient was harmed as such a record will be useful to educate the staff and also to prevent the re-occurrence of similar errors. Various countries such as Canada and those in Europe and the United States have set up medical error reporting systems which are then reviewed and used to educate healthcare professionals and also to advice pharmaceutical companies on the need to incorporate any changes in the manufacturing, labeling or packaging of any drug. There is also increased focus on the need to provide drug safety information along with each medication in order to enable physicians and the public to have access to the complete information about the drug (Patel & Balkrishnan, 2010). Thus while the occurrence of medication errors is unfortunate it can however be prevented from reoccurrence by undertaking suitable proactive strategies and programs within a healthcare setting. References 1. Anderson, P., & Townsend, T. (2010). Medication errors: Don’t let then happen to you. American Nurse Today, 5 (3): 23-28. Retrieved 14 Feb, 2013, from http://www.americannursetoday.com/assets/0/434/436/440/6276/6334/6350/6356/8b8dac76-6061-4521-8b43-d0928ef8de07.pdf 2. Medication Errors. (2010). Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy. Retrieved 28 Feb. 2013, from http://amcp.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=9300 3. Patel I., & Balkrishnan, R. (2010). Medication Error Management Around the Globe: An Overview. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 72 (5): 359-345. doi: 10.4103/0250-474X.78518 Read More