Description Of Child Health Monitoring

All staff at Gap know that this should be strictly adhered to as the aim of the policy is to protect us and the children against medication errors. The dose and frequency of a child’s medication should be very clearly stated and must always be followed exactly, this is because there is considerable risk of harming a child if they are given medication that has not been prescribed to them or if the medication they do need is given to them at the wrong time or in the wrong amount. If a member of staff were to issue a child with incorrect medicine then they could well face losing their job or end up entering a lawsuit, especially if a child becomes seriously ill.

Needs to be assurance from governing bodies such as DOCS that all aspects of the wellbeing of the child can be met

Non care setting - Medications are often stored and administered in a variety of non-health care settings. These settings include: primary and secondary schools, Child day care centres, Board and care homes, Jails and prisons. In all these settings, employees frequently are responsible for handling and administering prescription and over-the-counter medications to clients or residents. Some organizations may employ licensed health professionals to directly manage the medication administration process. However, many of these settings have no licensed health professionals involved. Where medications are stored and administered to individuals, written policies and procedures should address the following: Acquisition of medications (e.g., from parents, caregivers, pharmacies), Specification of which personnel are allowed access to medications and allowed to administer medications to students, clients or residents, Labelling and packaging of medications managed for students, clients

* All medication should be recorded and signed for by the receiving pharmacist and a proper record maintained in-house.

1. In the workplace there is a generic Medication Management Policy and Procedures for Adult Services (Issue 10, 2012) document. This is kept to hand in a locked cupboard, readily available to read. It requires that all Healthcare Staff are given mandatory training and refreshers are provided. Legislation which surrounds the administration of medication includes The Medicines Act 1968, The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, The Data Protection Act 1998, The Care Standards Act 2000 and The Health and Social Care Act 2001

Record keeping with regard to medication - All early years settings should also have policies and procedures on how they record medication. Early years settings must have a medication record book

The world of pharmacy is a world of continuous change; there are so many specialties that the average person does not know what a pharmacist does, besides counting pills behind a counter at the local drug store. Pediatric pharmacy is a much needed specialization in the pharmacy world, and there is so much involved with it. The role of a pediatric pharmacist is in an inpatient setting, looking at medications, disease states and drug interactions to ensure the child’s safety. When it comes to dosing implications, the dosing guide for children is much different than it is for adults, as it depends on the age, weight, disease state, and much more. Dosing in children is a major part of a pediatric pharmacist’s job because a medication error can result in death easier than it can in an adult.1 These are all things that a pediatric pharmacist has to take into consideration during their daily job. Additionally, parents want to be able to trust the person responsible for their child’s medications. In order to become a pediatric pharmacist, more training than just a doctorate of pharmacy is required.

In addition to, reviewing the medication regime, including all over-the-counter medications during every face to face encounter. There is time set aside to discuss what the medications are, why they are taking them and how the are taken. the importance of carrying an up to date medication list with you at all times is also discussed as a safety moment. Upon discharge from each clinic visit, every patient is given a detailed written summary of diagnosis, treatment plan, medications and an allergy list.

To make sure discrepancies and changes in medication orders, I shadowed Ron to assess and educate the patient. I thought Ron displayed a very educational assessment by asking patient open-ended questions and gradually move to yes-no questions to help determine specific medication information. Ron’s avoided using medical jargon unless it is clear that the patient understands and is comfortable with the language used. He also prompt the patients to try to remember all applicable medication (patches, creams, inhalers, eye drops, injections, dietary supplements) and when patient could not remember what they were on he calls the primary care giver of the patient. Ron clarify unclear information in the patient’s chart, record the information

When implementing ways to eliminate medication errors are impossible, however best practices should be applied to avoid as many concerns or issues that could present itself. Through research there are many approaches that have been found to support the reduction of medication errors. The first areas to review was the way that medication orders are written, too many times medication orders are left to facilities with non-licensed nurses transcribe orders or to receive a verbal order from the physician’s office, sometimes written prescription are also faxed. When orders are received the staff member should verify the order with the physician’s office or have the office to escript the prescription directly to the pharmacy. Therefore if the order is incorrect, then the pharmacist who is licensed can obtain the correct order for the facility, it then can be sent to

Medication is prescribed to the individual in question so it is important staff make sure that only the person prescribed takes it. Documentation will show evidence of the medication being taken and this will make others aware that it has not been given to anyone else, it may be the person you are supporting has a habit of passing the medication onto to others so documentation will clarify that this is not happening. Confirming the individual has taken the medication will lower the risk of anyone else taking the medication and causing harm to them

The goal requires a nurse to use at least two identifiers on a client when administering medications which cannot include the client’s room number or physical location (Berman, Snyder, & Frandsen, 2016). Identifiers can however include the clients name, telephone number, an assigned identification number, or a number of other person-specific identifiers. These measures are taken to ensure that there is complete accuracy before anything is given.

Nurses need to verify order with the healthcare provider’s orders, Kardex, medicine sheet or medicine card. Check drug label and container three times. Check expiration date on drug at least three times to make sure they re not expired. When calculated drugs two nurses need to verify the calculation before the drug can be admistered per facility policies. Verify doses of drugs that maybe toxic with another nurse or pharmacist. Nurses or obligated to report drugs error to health care provider and nurse supervisor or manager. When administered medication it is important to document drug given, route, dose time and initials and also record effectiveness of the drug upon evaluation. As a nurse continuation of education is a requirement to

• Give over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your child's health care provider.

Based on the strengths and weaknesses of the PFCC assessment tool there is a definite need to improve the process of medication history, or medication reconciliation. Obtaining an accurate list of all medications a patient is taking; including, drug name, dosage, frequency and route is vital to patient care. Physician’s rely on this list to alter treatment plans, and transfer patients to other facilities. Prevention of harm from medications is a top patient safety priority. Nurses are responsible for obtaining and inputting an accurate medication list. In order to increase patient safety all nurses indiscriminate of specialty must acknowledge and adhere to a strict regimen of precise documentation of all medications regularly taken by patients. Improvement of medication lists not only increases patient safety, but will also increase the PFCC score.