Thanks to visit codestin.com
Credit goes to www.scribd.com

0% found this document useful (0 votes)
207 views7 pages

Preventing Medication Errors in Nursing

This document discusses medication errors in healthcare settings and strategies to address this issue. It begins by defining medication errors and examining their causes and impacts. It then discusses the nurse's role in preventing errors through best practices like thorough medication selection and administration monitoring. The document also explores how stakeholders can participate through developing safety policies, collecting data, and investing in technologies. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of evidence-based practices and guidelines to reduce medication errors and preserve patient safety.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
207 views7 pages

Preventing Medication Errors in Nursing

This document discusses medication errors in healthcare settings and strategies to address this issue. It begins by defining medication errors and examining their causes and impacts. It then discusses the nurse's role in preventing errors through best practices like thorough medication selection and administration monitoring. The document also explores how stakeholders can participate through developing safety policies, collecting data, and investing in technologies. It concludes by emphasizing the importance of evidence-based practices and guidelines to reduce medication errors and preserve patient safety.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 7

1

Assessment 1: Enhancing Quality and Safety

Desiree Johanne

Department of Nursing, Capella University

NURS-FPX4020 Improving Quality Care Patient Safety

Dr. Germika Brandon

February 26, 2023


2

Assessment 1: Enhancing Quality and Safety

One of the main duties from any health professional, is to maintain their patients safe,

that is, free from harm. However, data from institutions such as the World Health Organization

(2019) shows that, in the last decade, nearly twenty percent of disability or death related injures

had to do with medication-related errors. The purpose of this paper is examining a safety quality

issue such as medication administration in healthcare settings, as well as some plausible

evidence-based and best-practice solutions that could address this problem. This paper will also

examine the nurses’ role and other stakeholders as part of the possible solution.

The impact of medication-related errors involves the adverse effects these can have on

patients (Khalil & Huang, 2020). However, it is also important to consider, that nursing staff

members are, most of the times, the people in charge of administering medications to patients,

therefore, they are able to prevent these adverse events (Khalil & Lee, 2018). Literature and

evidence-based practice offers a series of preventive methods of medication errors that can help

nurses and other healthcare professionals to maintain their patients’ safety (Alteren et al., 2018).

What are Medication Errors?

When patients suffer harm from incidents (that can be preventable) derived of

medications inappropriately used or controlled by professionals, these fall into the category of

medication errors (Aseeri et al., 2020). Chapuis et al. (2019) list different sources of origin of

these types of events, for instance professional practice (i. e. inadequate prescription) products

(wrong label or packaging), system (denomination, dispensing devises, distribution mechanisms)

and utilization. Some factors that cause these types of errors in commonly used medications with

similar name or packaging, which can lead to confusion from either the patient or the provider,

when acquiring, prescribing, administering or taking the medication (Escrivá García et al., 2019).
3

Another factor involves rare or unusually prescribed medications, meaning the type of

medications that are uncommon in certain specific treatments or that lack of scientific validation

for those specific purposes but that can potentially help improving the patients’ condition, based

in criteria that it is either not reliable or that has not been tested enough to have empiric evidence

(Curie, 2018). Other factors are related with higher doses than those established for therapeutic

purpose of certain medications, leading to allergic reactions or intoxication (Currie, 2018).

Nurses’ Involvement Preventing Medication Errors and Improving Patient Safety

According to available literature, evidence-based practice (EBP) is an important resource

healthcare professionals can use to prevent medication errors (ME), either by using prevention

strategies or using adequate practices for medication administration (MA) so that the number of

adverse events is lower (Wolf & Hughes.,2 019). In addition, there are certain practices health

professionals can use to minimize the occurrence of medication errors, for instance: thoroughly

selecting the medications, their administration and monitoring the way this affect the patient’s

body functions, in order to make adjustments on the dosage, in case it is necessary.

Currie (2018) also notes that it is important to consider how different prescriptions and

administration routes and the physiological factors of each patient that make their mechanism of

action varies from one case to the other. This means that healthcare professionals must identify

and understand what are the conditions of the patient that might change (i. e. reduce or increase)

the action certain medication have on his/her body. The most common example, is to verify how

toxic a drug can be or what other adverse effects can have on the patients’ health. Chapuis et al.

(2019) use the example of overdoses to show how the cumulative effect medications have in a

human body. Therefore, it is important to establish what are the tolerable levels for its use (i. e.

achieving plasma levels or circulating in the human body before its excretion).
4

Using evidence-based practice to determine a range of toxicity levels derived from

medication administration in a patient’s body, can orient nurses in determining the adequate

dosage patients need for treatment (Alteren et al., 2018). Considering that any medication can be

potentially toxic (depending of its levels of presence in the human body), knowing the side

effects of each medication, as well as signs and symptoms associated with intoxication, can help

nurses in being alert and anticipate potential cases in their facility (Chanielere et al., 2018).

How Can Stakeholders Participate?

Patients’ safety is a goal that not involves healthcare professionals. A stakeholder is

someone that is directly or indirectly affected by how positive (or negative) the outcomes of the

organization; they can also participate in many activities, either because they are administrators,

providers, suppliers or executives (Perdini & Ferri, 2019). This means that, stakeholders must

also strive for the patients’ safety improvement. Ways to do so include offering new ideas or

finding relevant information that the healthcare staff could use to mitigate the problem. Currie

(2018) notes that other ways stakeholders can address the issue of medication errors involves the

development of policies and compliance programs for that purpose. The latter includes safety

strategies, collecting data to improve the facility’s conditions, monitoring the staff members and

offering legal advice on the consequences of malpractice (Currie, 2018).

In order to have positive outcomes, stakeholders can rely in evidence-based practice

contained in literature, to improve the patient’s safety in the facility. Chaneliere et al. (2018)

state that there are multiple sources containing effective methods that detect practices and system

failures that contribute to the occurrence of medication errors. Other authors point out the

importance of analyzing the human factors in these events, leading to adopt control mechanisms

such as security rounds, monitoring as well as other preventive practices (Khalil & Lee, 2018).
5

Another key resource stakeholders can use is technology. According to Wolf and Hughes

(2019) there are different ways technology can help in minimizing medication errors in a

healthcare facility. Some examples include surveillance devices, alert systems as well as other

tools that can help preventing medication errors, for instance, decision support systems (Wolf &

Hughes, 2019). The authors also recommend stakeholders invest in having a better integration of

their healthcare’ systematization by using electronic medical records that are constantly updated,

so that health professionals have access to accurate information online (Wolf & Hughes).

From a nurse’s perspective, administering medications to patients is one of the most

common activities in their routines, which is why it is important to improve their skills in this

practice, as well as acquiring new knowledge that gives them a better discernment of

medications and adequate administration of (Nkurunziza et al., 2019). In addition, emphasizing

on patient-centered care as part of their competencies can make nurses more competent when

taking care of them, particularly focusing on their safety when receiving medications.

Conclusion

Medication errors are, sadly, a recurring event in healthcare facilities, however, there are

plenty of resources that healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, can use to prevent this

phenomenon from happening. Evidence based care and practices is an important resource in

which nurses can learn how to administer medications appropriately, reducing the risk of errors

as much as possible. Likewise, there are technologies and practice guidelines that help health

professionals when administering medications, particularly to identify potential sources of risks

in this area. Finally, stakeholders must actively participate, not only in preserving the patients’

safety, but also in the provision of healthcare services that meet the standards of quality, that

includes the adoption of safety practices that prevent medication errors from happening.
6

References

Alteren, J., Hermstad, M., White, J., & Jordan, S. (2018). Conflicting priorities: observation of

medicine administration. Journal of clinical nursing, 27(19-20), 3613-3621.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14518

Aseeri, M., Banasser, G., Baduhduh, O., Baksh, S., & Ghalibi, N. (2020). Evaluation of

medication error incident reports at a tertiary care hospital. Pharmacy, 8(2), 69.

https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fpharmacy8020069

Chaneliere, M., Koehler, D., Morlan, T., Berra, J., Colin, C., Dupie, I., & Michel, P. (2018).

Factors contributing to patient safety incidents in primary care: a descriptive analysis of

patient safety incidents in a French study using CADYA (categorization of errors in

primary care). BMC family practice, 19(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12875-018-

0803-9

Chapuis, C., Chanoine, S., Colombet, L., Calvino-Gunther, S., Tournegros, C., Terzi, N., ... &

Schwebel, C. (2019). Interprofessional safety reporting and review of adverse events and

medication errors in critical care. Therapeutics and clinical risk management, 15, 549.

https://doi.org/10.2147/TCRM.S188185

Currie, L. M. (2018). Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses.

Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Escrivá Gracia, J., Brage Serrano, R., & Fernández Garrido, J. (2019). Medication errors and

drug knowledge gaps among critical-care nurses: a mixed multi-method study. BMC

health services research, 19(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4481-7


7

Khalil, H., & Lee, S. (2018). Medication safety challenges in primary care: Nurses’

perspective. Journal of clinical nursing, 27(9-10), 2072-2082.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14353

Khalil, H., & Huang, C. (2020). Adverse drug reactions in primary care: a scoping review. BMC

health services research, 20(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12913-019-4651-7

National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention . (2015, January

30). About Medication Errors. NCC MERP. https://www.nccmerp.org/about-medication-

errors.

Nkurunziza, A., Chironda, G., Mukeshimana, M., Uwamahoro, M. C., Umwangange, M. L., &

Ngendahayo, F. (2019). Factors contributing to medication administration errors and

barriers to self-reporting among nurses: a review of literature. Rwanda Journal of

Medicine and Health Sciences, 2(3), 294-303. https://doi.org/10.4314/rjmhs.v2i3.14

Pedrini, M., & Ferri, L. M. (2019). Stakeholder management: a systematic literature

review. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 19(1),

44-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-08-2017-0172

Wolf, Z. R., & Hughes, R. G. (2019). Best practices to decrease infusion-associated medication

errors. Journal of Infusion Nursing, 42(4), 183-192.

https://doi.org/10.1097/NAN.0000000000000329

World Health Organization. (2019). Medication safety in polypharmacy: technical report (No.

WHO/UHC/SDS/2019.11). World Health Organization.

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/325454/WHO-UHC-SDS-2019.11-

eng.pdf

You might also like