Medication Tracer Research Paper

Goal three by the National Patient Safety Goal for 2014 is to use medicines safely. Many errors occur regularly with medications which is why communication is so important with the doctors, nurses and patients. One process that Joint Commission requires in accredited HCO’s is medication reconciliation “creating the most accurate list possible off all medications a patient is taking, including drug name, dosage, frequency, and route, and comparing that list against the physician’s admission, transfer, and/or discharge orders with the goal of providing correct medications to the patients at all transition points within the hospital (Finkelman & Kenner, 2012, p. 388)”. Ensuring medication reconciliation to the patient, health providers and any new consults that are

It’s not simply the particular giving of the medications that fare up all the time. It is checking the medical record with the hand written prescriptions, grouping the varied medications and also the instrumentation for giving them, and ensuring all the patients safety measure are covered.

Daily drug dosages are given at specified times during a day, such as twice a day (b.i.d.), three times a day (t.i.d.), four times a day (q.i.d.), or every 6 hours (q6h), so that the plasma level of the drug is maintained at a therapeutic level. (BOOK )Medication timing also accounts for medication errors and is of the utmost importance while administering medication to a patient. Timing of medication delivery to patients is arranged strategically though pharmacy according to the physician’s orders. Attention is placed on the type of medication along with interaction a medication may have with other prescribed medication on a patients chart. Nursing are pulled in many different directions, answering physcians calls, admitting new patient and dealing with emergent situations that often times takes them off schedule. It is impossible to give every patient on the floor medication at the expected time charted on the electronic medication chart. Most facilities allot nursing staff the flexibility to pass medication one hour before and one hour after medication stated due on the electronic record. Performing the necessary research for hospital facility guidelines as regards to medication distribution and abiding by those, help illuminate medication time errors. Giving medication at the appropriate rate encompasses the appropriate time of delivery. Correctly determining how fast are slow a

Organisational policy and procedures should include how to receive and record medication, safe storage, prescribing, dispensing, administration, monitoring and

The Pyxis system simplifies the inventory, stocking, ordering and distribution of medications through the use of information systems.

The pharmacist will scan the medication again and the picture of the drug will pop up with other information pertaining to the patient and drug on the screen. The pharmacist will then open the vial to inspect again that it is the correct medication dispensed and check the quantity. By allowing the pharmacist to check the medication again after the previous step ensures that the medication is double checked and that it went through two different people. Once it is checked the pharmacist will now finish processing the prescription and pack the medication into a bag and is now ready for patients to come pick up the

Step2: Main pharmacy pharmacist or clinical pharmacist in the responsible floor verify the order; if it is correct, then go to step3; if the pharmacist has some questions or concerns about the order, contact the physician or nurse practitioner to address. Pharmacists check the indication, effectiveness, safety, and convenience of the medication. Time spent: 5 minutes

After preparation of the medication the medication nurse will then scan the medication and the patient identification band into the electronic health record system and the witnessing nurse will add a chart note to the medication stating that they witnessed the procedure. The medication nurse will then administer the medication while the second nurse observes. The policy also specifies that order clarification will be sought from the prescribing physician prior to administration in the event that there is a question or concern involving the order for heparin. The policy includes an attachment that provides specific step by step instructions for dosage for weight based heparin drip calculations and detailed instructions for setting the IV pump for infusion. According to this policy, routine monitoring of heparin administration is to obtain lab values for the PTT, PT/INR every 6 hours or as otherwise specified by the prescribing physician.

Additionally, the facility should have a system in place that alerts the staff regarding high dosages. One way to alert the pharmacist would be via a computerized system that monitors the dispensing of all medications. The system should contain an up to date database for referencing medications. Also, the computerized system should have parameters set for alerting pharmacy and nursing staff for all high dosages. When taking cost into consideration, the facility might not have the feasibility to implement an entire computerized dispensing system that provides dosage alerts and cross check off of medications. To maintain patient safety with limited funds, the facility should have remote access to a pediatric pharmacy where all pediatric medications can be cross-checked and verified. If the facility was unable to have a pediatric pharmacist on staff, the remote access would provide a safety net for pediatric medication dispensing. In addition to the pharmacy staff having access to a computerized system, the physician should as well. Had the physician had computer access and been required to enter medication orders, the tenfold error could have been noted and not reached baby Miguel.

The medication should be checked as soon as the order had been requested by the physician.

In the discharge pharmacy, they receive calls all day long from nurses asking where the medication and when it can be expected to be delivered. The calls from nurses are symptoms of an inefficient system that does not allow medication orders to be tracked. Medication tracking system eliminates the need for replacing lost or late medication and decreases pharmacy and nursing time searching for medication by knowing when the medications left the pharmacy and where it was delivered, it can also help identify the last person to handle of medication to eliminate diversion.

After the Pharmacy technicians checks the solution for exactness, and may convey it to the patient. The expert then duplicates the data about the endorsed pharmaceutical onto the patient's profile. Specialists likewise may amass a 24-hour supply of medication for each patient. They bundle and mark every measurement independently. The bundles are then set in the drug cupboards of patients until the administering pharmacist checks them for precision, and at exactly that point is the prescription given to the patients.

The clinical pharmacist here at Monongahela Valley Hospital focused on Vancomycin dosing for the patients in the hospital. The pharmacist looked at the patient’s vancomycin troughs and renal function to determine if they are given the correct dose or if any dose changes needs to be made based on the status of the patient. When I got to make the IV bags for the patients, I got to use what I learned in school for practice. I am a hands-on learner, so I enjoyed making the IV and compounding medications. Most of the time that I was here at the hospital I was gathering medications to be delivered to the patients; this task I was very comfortable at doing because of my experience in retail

On November 29, 2016 around 1030 a.m I witness several medications in your pocket. Once I witness them I asked to you to turn them into pharmacy. It has been communicated during department meetings and huddles the expectations are that each Respiratory Care Practitioner will check their order against the patients electronic health work order record, and then proceed to the Pyxis remove only the medications needed for that particular patient. They will than proceed to the patients room and administer the medication then return again to the Pyxis to remove medication for their other patient this process will be repeated for each individual patient.

Set-up and workflow of my pharmacy is pretty good for patient centered care. Patient does not have to wait too long for their prescriptions to be filled. Patients can call for their refills via telephone or online, which makes their life easy as they don’t have bother coming in-person for refills. Patient profile shows all medication history as well as number of refills remaining. This makes it easy for pharmacist to know whether to refill a prescription or call doctor for refill request. After confirming to fill a prescription pharmacist runs claim through insurance and print label after claim is successful. All medication is arranged alphabetically on shelves, thus it is easy and quick to retrieve. Then after technician fills medication and then pharmacist checks it. This workflow is quite smooth and quick to process. Final check is done by pharmacist, who confirms right medication for right patient as well as the NDC dispensed, amount dispensed, direction for use, and day supply. All these steps of process take place on working table in sequential order, which helps to reduce errors in filling and have effective prescription filling. Once the prescription is filled pharmacist do all paper