Nursing Medication Errors

The IOM report To Err is Human (2000), categorized various types of errors based on the research of Leape, Woods & Hatlie,. (1993). The research conducted by Leape, et al. (1993) reveals that 70% of errors were preventable. Despite the ideal desire to be perfect healthcare professionals, we are all human; and no one is perfect. The primary focus in terms of medication errors is prevention, however the

This article will look at two articles and focus on aspects of safety medication administration in nursing practice by the staff nurses. This is interesting area because the previous report on the medication administration error in the UK shows that approximately 5.6% of doses administered to adult hospital patients and it has been estimated that 0.6-1.2% of medication administration errors may lead to severe harm even death (Mcleod et al, 2013). Leape et al (1995) indicated that nurses were responsible for 86% of all medication error interception, regardless of the original errors. The nurses play the important role in identifying the causes of medication errors and preventing medication administration errors in nursing practice in order to provide safe care toward the service users (Henneman et al, 2010). The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA 2004) documented that the health professionals need to effectively and safely use medicines to ensure patients get the maximum benefit from the medicine; meanwhile minimizing the potential harm. This article will be critiqued on the different types of evidence which explored safety medication administration in the nursing practice toward service user. Using evidence is important in nursing practice because it can help nurses in addressing questions related to best possible care and improve patients’ outcome. It is embedded within the code the nurses are expected to use best possible evidence in the nursing

Many were reprimanded by verbal or documentation measures which was placed in their personnel files. One sixth of the hospitals had no documentation or disciplinary action in place. One fourth were either suspended or terminated as their form of disciplinary action, and legal action was never used. Many of the hospitals listed medication errors which had caused harm (42%), and death (40%) in personnel files. However, 34% of the other hospitals did not put any form of documentation of medication errors in any personnel file. There were a difference of three fourths between errors caught and not caught before the medication leaves the pharmacy and reaches the patient.

Nursing medication errors were examined by having nurses take surveys based on their perception of why medication errors are occurring as well as visiting their work setting and observing any errors. Nurses are encouraged to take precaution when administering medications to ensure that the correct medication as well as the dose, is given to the correct patient. It is imperative for hospitals to enforce medication stipulations to ensure that nurses are double checking medication labels. Studies show that causes of medication errors are due to nurse’s not understanding protocol, administration errors related to overworked weary

In today’s current fast-paced and demanding field of heath care, medication administration has become complex and time-consuming task. Approximately one-third of the nurses’ time is used in medication administration. There is much potential for error because of the complexity of the medication administration process. Since nurses are the last ones to actually administer the medication to the patient therefore they become responsible for medication administration errors (MAE). Reasons for MAE may include individual factors, organizational factors or system factors. This paper will discuss the root causes analysis of MAE and strategies to prevent them.

A third risk in a hospital is medication errors. These occur when either the pharmacist can’t read a physician’s hand writing on a prescription, or the physician does not know the patients medication history and so on. The quality outcome of the patient’s wellbeing is affected in this risk.

Medication errors have contributed to healthcare issues and created problematic discrepancies affecting costs, safety issues, qualitative concerns, and economic effects. This review will provide the background, rationale, and the overview of multiple issues causing medication errors. Issues contributing to negative effects of the health system will be identified including how specific issues affect patients, and adverse drug effects. Effects on health costs will be reviewed as they relate to higher health costs, in addition to the impact higher costs have on the economy.

The authors suggest that this error is a lead cause of hospital deaths related to medication errors. The research is done by surveying those in the fields of nursing, pharmacy, and other prescribers to test their knowledge, experience, and capabilities on handling high-alert medications in a hospital. The study shows that results varies between each perspective field of study. The survey and the research show that more discipline on handling high-alert medication is needed to prevent unnecessary medical errors by prescription. The article discusses that continuing education is required to hold the health providers accountable in the medication use process. This research will be beneficial to my research paper since the source provides detail information in regard to prescription errors that is a major cause of hospital deaths in the United

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines medical errors as “the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim.” Medical errors do not all result in harm or injury. Medical errors that cause injury or harm are sometimes called preventable adverse events – that is the injury is thought to be due to a medical intervention, not an underlying patient condition. Errors resulting in serious injury or death are considered “sentinel events” by the Joint Commission. These signal need for immediate response and analysis to identify all factors contributing to the

Simple medication errors can place patients at high risk for injury or even death. Doctors and nurses factor primarily as the main contributors in causing these errors. Prevention may be the key to decreasing medication errors through the use of a few simple steps. For example, doctors clarification of medications with the patient or family members, the writing of orders or prescriptions accurately and legibly, and nursing applying the five rights rule, right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, and right time. Additionally, the result of current statistical data has also proven the need to prevent medication errors in hospital setting. Some hospitals have utilized ways of preventing medication errors by using new technologies, one called the Pixus machine, a computerized system for dispensing drugs, another is a new bar code system that scans patient arm bands and nurses name badges. Unfortunately, system medication errors still occur because technicians have to fill those machines with medications. The technician can easily misread the dosage label and place them in wrong drawer. Through the rate of errors has decreased since these practices have been put in place in various hospitals, increased precautions should still be in place to insure patient safety.( Taylor Book, p736)

Medication errors are a major issue affecting patient safety in hospitals, which can create deadly consequences for patients. It is crucial to identify and analyzed medication errors so healthcare professionals can pinpoint why medication errors occur and provide insight into how to prevent or reduce them.

This paper addressed the problem of medication errors in the healthcare setting and how they occur. Although medication errors sound harmless, it actually injures hundreds of thousands of individuals a year in the United States. According to Williams and Ashrcoft (2013) “ An estimated median of 19.1 % of total opportunities for error in hospitals.” Although medication errors can occur in any floor at any moment it is more prevalent to occur in the modes of transferring a patient. As per Johnson, Guirguis, and Grace (2015) “An estimated 60% of all medication errors occur during transit of care. The National Transitions of Care Coalition defines a transition of care as the movement of patients between healthcare locations, providers, or different levels of care within the same location as their conditions and care needs change, [and] frequently involves multiple persons, including the patient, the family member or other caregiver(s), nurse(s), social worker(s), case manager(s), pharmacist(s), physician(s), and other providers.” During this time frame the patient is changing settings and, the person responsible for the health care decisions is also changed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore this concept within the context of Medication Administration errors (MAEs), examine factors that contribute to nurses becoming second victims, and the impact that becoming a second victim has on nurses and nursing. In events such as MAEs, there can be three types of victims: the first is the patient and their family, the second victim is the nurse or health care professional and the third is the involved organisation. Second victim is defined as a “health care provider involved in an unanticipated adverse event, medical error, and/or a patient

Doctors, practicing nurses, therapist and pharmacists are authorized to look after our health, but as they’re human too, even they make mistakes. Evidently, when a healthcare professional make a mistake, the consequences can be deadly for the patient. While medical errors surrounding misdiagnoses, administering of anesthesia and surgery are well-recorded, medication and prescription errors are a growing concern.

I think industry leaders have finally begun to realize that complex problems such as medication errors for example, cannot be remedied without the help of those involved in preparing, distributing, and administering medications. Like Swiss cheese these very complex processes often include wholes or potential areas of risk throughout various levels of each process, but when multiple risks converge it can create an opportunity for an adverse event (Mansour, James, Edgley, 2012). If an organization only examines the problem by focusing on one of these specific areas it may impede their perspective (Porter O’Grady & Malloch, 2015, p.23). For example, an organization who places blame on a provider for making a medication error may overlook the fact the the pharmacy labels are difficult to read, medications delivered to the ward are not appropriately verified, or medication are erroneously stored. As organizations move to a more decentralized structure they are beginning to see the value that individual roles have on the big picture. Organization’s that support an environment of non-punitive reporting as well as encourage interprofessional collaboration