Essay on Eliminating Abbreviations Errors in the Medical Field

According to a cross-sectional study involving 237 nurses, approximately 65% of the nurses have made medication error. Only 31% of the participants reported medication errors. According to the study the most common type of reported errors were wrong dosage and infusion rate. The most common causes were using abbreviations of the drugs and similar names of the drugs. However, the study did not find any relationship between medication years and years of experience, age, and working shift. Yet study found association between intravenous injection and gender (Cheragi at al

For the verbal orders and read backs graph needs to be broken down into quarters. This would help address the problems sooner for the next fiscal year. During a department’s grand rounds, it needs to be reiterate the important of verbal orders and read backs are to patients’ safety. The smaller sample size may point to an individual doctor or nurse who needs retraining. This will help with orthopedics department improvement at fast rate and take other department to one hundred percent. The rush of the orders being given may lead to the using of impropriate use of abbreviations. The U abbreviation needs to be address in grand rounds of each department. The reporting of critical results need to address with laboratory staff and nurses, The doctors should be warned that when order something, “stat” to ask for the results within a reasonable amount of time. This will help in patient’s safety because it saves of life.

The Priority Focus Area of Communication includes 3 Joint Commission (JC) standards relative to Universal Protocol. These 3 standards, which are components of the National Patient Safety Goals, are aimed at ensuring the correct

There are two prohibited abbreviations that are tracked, “cc” and “qd”, as they are the most common. Throughout the year there has not been consistent improvement in the area. The trending data shows some improvement in parts of the year and then some months, April and September, to have increased spikes of use of prohibited abbreviations. During the PPR it was noted that the following departments were non-compliant concerning using prohibited abbreviations: 3E, 4E, ICU, and Telemetry. The

Regulatory body standards NICE Universal precautions Other current Government and/or Health Department standards and guidelines Skills for Health Infection Control workplace competencies Other national standards and regulations that are current Local and organisational policies Health and safety policies Organisational infection control policies Any policies specific to role,

Writing College, Writing Life’s article Learning the Language by Perri Klass talks about how some professions require abbreviations, which is one of the few times it is accecptable. Abbrevaitons can be helpful and an easy way to write a few words in just a few letters. Teachers do not like abbreviations because the writer tends to assume the reader knows what each acronym means, the paper should be and enjoyable read, not a confusing puzzle. While writing a paper for school teachers do not approve of abbreviation and acronyms, the writer should just take his or her time to write our each word correctly.

Abbreviations as part of the communication plan; currently Nightingale Community evaluates the non-approved abbreviations monthly and has made improvements during the accreditation audit period. Non

It is shocking to know that every year 98000 patients die from medical errors that can be prevented(Kohn, L. T., Corrigan, J. M., & Donaldson, M. S. (Eds.), 2000). Medical errors are not a new issue in our healthcare system; these have been around for a long time. Hospitals have been trying to improve quality care and patients safety by implementing different strategies to prevent and reduce medical errors for past thirty years. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in America (Allen, 2013). In addition medical errors are costing our healthcare system an estimated $735 billion to $980 billion (Andel, Davidow, Hollander, & Moreno, 2012).

In my paper I will be discussing what medical terminology is, where it came from, and how it is applied to medical assistant careers as well as how it is applied to medical administration careers. I will give examples of the importance of medical terminology and specific examples of where medical careers use medical terminology on a day to day basis. I will also give a brief summary and definition of what medical terminology stands for. After reading my paper you should have a good concept of medical terminology’s importance, use, and why medical terminology is not just applied to medical assisting jobs but also why it is important for medical administration employees to also be familiar and have a good grasp on medical terminology.

If formal communication is not used in the correct environment, misunderstanding may occur, causing danger to somebody’s health. Appropriate language must also be used; Professional references, proper English without slang and clear consistent wording.

Complete the medical abbreviations chart. (Note that the medical abbreviations are the same as those highlighted in yellow in Jane Dare’s Health Record). In the second column, list what each of the individual letters in the abbreviation represents. In the third column define the context or meaning of the term that the abbreviation represents. Use simple terms. Finally, in the far right column, identify the source document. For example, face sheet, discharge summary, progress notes, or x-ray report.

Computers have evolved at an extremely fast pace in the past few years. We would be at an extreme disadvantage if we did not take the opportunity to use this to our benefit. With the common place of wireless networks and mobile platforms, such as the IPAD, doctors could carry out such changes fairly readily and efficiently. This would allow for the text to be easily read, and give the doctors one more tool for correcting spelling errors as well. It has already been proven that computers can greatly reduce the errors made as evidenced by an excerpt of one article "... during the study, the non-missed-dose medication error rate fell 81 percent, from 142 per 1,000

A medical setting in which a patient feels safe and secure is more likely to create the conditions in which optimal outcomes can be achieved. Part of helping to ensure a patient feels secure is addressing the communication barriers between the provider and the patient. Some of these barriers arise from the use of professional jargon. Surgeons, Physicians, Nurses, etc. work at a fast pace to make sure that every patient is attended to. As this is their profession, medical jargon is used frequently when communicating to each other, figuring out a diagnosis, and coming up with a treatment plan for the patient. But this medical jargon creates a barrier between the healthcare professional and the patient. There can be misunderstandings between the patient and the professional when it comes to diagnoses and treatment plans due to the communication barrier. The professionals commonly use medical terminology to inform the patient of their status and a patient may simply nod their head to be polite. This nod does not necessarily mean that there is a mutual understanding, it could potentially mean that they are overwhelmed and don’t know how else to act in response to long confusing words being directed at them. This is dangerous because a patient could leave the facility not knowing how to appropriately take care of themselves after their procedure/diagnosis. Medical jargon has the potential to cause the patient and medical professional relationship to be both broken and

Spelling is important in medical terminology because many things can go wrong. You could give the wrong diagnose are even cause a patient to take the wrong medication. Many doctors and nurses use abbreviations on their charts so they won't waste as much time. Many words may sound the same but have different meaning and some words have the same meaning for example stool and evacuation. That's why it is very important for anyone joining the medical field to learn as much Medical Terminology as they possible can. I think that Medial Terminology can affect the professional because one big mistake could cause them to loose their job. And it could also affect the patient because their life is on the line. One way to avoid medical errors in future

I agree those are the three main guidelines when it comes to ensuring the proper usage of medical terminology. I would also advise that you simply understand what the combining forms and even the root words because that will give you the basic understanding of the whole word and what the word is pertaining to.