Proposed Solution
Medication administration is a common procedure practice in an assisted living/residential community in which the staff members are not licensed; in settings such as this staff members are often lay people who administers medication and provide care. It is facilities such as these where it has been found many medication errors occurs due to non-medical people administering medications, people who are unfamiliar the medications being administered, communication barriers, medication orders, the packaging, and the wrong medication doses at the wrong times. The list of errors are endless, yet troublesome (MacDonald, I., 2013). Medication errors are listed “a preventable adverse effect of medical care” which can lead to a
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It will take a regulatory approach such as in 2001, in which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other federal agencies formed the Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force in 2000 and issued an action plan for reducing medical errors. Although with good faith and good intentions. The FDA in order to minimize confusion between drug names that look or sound alike they created a computerized program that assists in detecting similar names, the FDA ensured drug labeling was on all medications as well as over the counter medications and FDA reviews medication error reports that come from drug manufacturers. However this is not enough (U.S. Food and Drug …show more content…
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Organization Culture
The organization for which this culture should take place would be for medication administration in an assisted living/residential facility. When compared to other health care facilities that do offer systems that are similar such as the hospitals that use the bar code systems and Id recognition for medication administration, as well as some insurances offering nurses insurances for malpractice or even offering reporting medication errors without fault to the staff member.
Expected Outcomes
The purpose and objective is to ensure the safety of the patient medication administration in facilities that in a non-nursing population. In an effort to improve the patient medication experiences in assisted living facilities. The interventions listed above are to place plausible solution to frail system that continues to fail patient safety. Unlike other health care facilities that provide licensed staff members their systems are more regulated than those of a residential or assisted living facility. The expected outcomes can only build a system that would provide some line of a regulatory approach to a system that is left without recourse.
Method to Achieve
For my research paper, I will be discussing the impact of medication errors on vulnerable populations, specifically the elderly. Technology offers ways to reduce medication errors using electronic bar-coding medication administration (BCMA) systems. However, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are not using these systems. Medication is still administered with a paper or electronic medication administration record (eMAR), without barcode scanning. In contrast, every hospital I have been in: as a patient, nursing student, and nurse uses BCMA systems. The healthcare system is neglecting the elderly. Nursing homes should use BCMAs to reduce the incidents of medication errors.
According to Accuracy at Every Step: The Challenge of Medication Reconciliation (n.d.), the most challenge is called medication reconciliation, which is a formal steps of gathering information related to the patient’s medication with accurate current medication list and compared to the doctor’s admission, transfer and discharge orders. Its aim is to prevent medication errors. There are three steps process- Verification (gather medication history), Clarification (confirm the medication with doses, properly) and Reconciliation (documenting with medication information). This challenge is important to obtain accurate information on all patients entering the hospital. Information technology may play an important role in improving
Most undergraduate nursing students are not being properly educated on proper medication administration. Clinical instructors and registered nurses need to be updated on medication administration reporting, so students do not develop bad habits when they become registered nurses. Registered nurses must also continue their education on med error prevention to prevent future errors. Another significant problem with registered nurses was that they did not have positive attitudes when reporting an error. Once these negative attitudes were changed, more errors were reported (Harding & Petrick, 2008). The three main problems that cause medication errors...
Medication Errors one of the biggest issues happening in an acute care setting today . Although, Medications are given based on the five rights principles: the right patient, right medication, right route, right dose, and right time. Even with the five rights principles medication errors are still happening. However, some of the errors that are occurring are due to poor order transcriptions and documentation, drug interactions, proper drug name and not paying enough attention and environment factors.
A medication error is any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or harm to a patient (NCCMERP 2014). The death rate for medication errors averages around 7,000 deaths per year. Lawsuits for medication errors were mainly made against registered nurses because nurses are the last people to check a medication before it is administered. 426 medication error related lawsuits were made against registered nurses. (RightDiagnosis 2014).
Implementing technology in a clinical setting is not easy and cannot be successful without a well-organized system. It is important that healthcare providers understand the electronic medication administration record (eMAR) and its role in improving patient safety. One of the most significant aspects of healthcare is the safety of our patients. Medication errors account for 44,000-98,000 deaths per year, more deaths than those caused by highway accidents or breast cancer. Several health information technologies help to reduce the number of medication errors that occur. Once of these technologies is bar-code-assisted medication administration (BCMA). These systems are designed to ensure that the right drug is being administered via the right
Agyemang, REO, and A While. "Medication errors: types, causes and impact on nursing practice." British Journal of Nursing (BJN) 19.6 (2010): 380-385. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.
Medication errors made by medical staff bring about consequences of epidemic proportions. Medical staff includes everyone from providers (medical doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) to pharmacists to nurses (registered and practical). Medication errors account for almost 98,000 deaths in the United States yearly (Tzeng, Yin, & Schneider, 2013). This number only reflects the United States, a small percentage in actuality when looking at the whole world. Medical personnel must take responsibility for their actions and with this responsibility comes accountability in their duties of medication administration. Nurses play a major role in medication error prevention and education and this role distinguishes them as reporters of errors.
What classifies as a Medication errors? An error can occur any time during the medication administration process. A medication error can be explained as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer” (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, 2014, para 1). Rather it is at prescribing, transcribing, dispensing or at the time of administration all these areas are equally substantial in producing possible errors that could potentially harm the patient (Flynn, Liang...
Furthermore, short staffing affects the quality direct care each patient receives. The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (2012) states an estimated 98,000 individuals die every year from medical errors in the United States. One out of many significant tasks nurses do within their scope of practice is medication administration. Research shows a relationship between short staffing on medication errors: the longer the hours nurses work, the higher the chances of medication errors (Garnett, 2008). (include definition of medication error) Administering medications requires knowledge of patient rights, pharmacological information on the drug, adverse effects, proper dosage calculations, and hospital protocols. When nurses are assigned more patients, they are pressured to give due medications on time. Sometimes due to hunger or fatigue, nurses give the wrong medication to the wrong patient (Frith, Anderson, Tseng, & Fong, 2012).
Overall, I retain three goals for this clinical day: Safely and efficently administer medication, enhance my nursing/CNA skills, and determine how to implement infection control into a health care setting. This week reflects my assigned time to administer medication in a health care setting for the first time, with a resident who retains nearly twenty medications. I except this experience will be a great learning experience, but it will also subsist slightly stressful. With the assistance of my FOR, my goal is to administer all of my resident 's medications without complications. To ensure that medication safety, I will perform the six medication rights and three checks prior to administration. Along with medication administration, a goal
When doctors prescribe medication for their patients, a local retail pharmacy is most likely to be utilized to fill the order. However, there is a growing population of older Americans that are no longer able to live independently and must reside in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. In order for this vulnerable population to receive their medications, a different kind of pharmacy is needed, these are known as LTC, long term care pharmacies. Within these specialized pharmacies there are highly trained employees called CPhTs, certified pharmacy technicians who are overseen by state licensed RPHs, otherwise known as pharmacists.
Tzeng, H., Yin, C., & Schneider, T. E. (2013). Medication Error-Related Issues In Nursing Practice. MEDSURG Nursing, 22(1), 13-50.
O’Shea, E (1999) Factors contributing to medication errors: a literature review. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 8, 5,496-503.
Brown. J, (2013). Reducing Medication Errors in Nursing Homes Admissions. Retrieved on March 29, 2014 from http://www.elderbranch.com/blog/reducing-medication-errors-in-nursing-home-admissions/