Patient Identifiers

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

The participants in the home-based educational interventions will be encouraged to purchase automated home blood pressure monitoring devices. All the patients will use similar devices and will be taught how to take BP readings and record the readings correctly. A registered nurse will visit the patients on a weekly basis to validate the BP monitoring techniques and review the recorded BP readings. The participants will also be educated on the importance of adherence to medications even when HTN symptoms seem under

Modern medical advancements have significantly decreased the prevalence and severity of infectious disease as well as the treatment of acute, traumatic conditions. Pharmacological research has also gained insight into the management of chronic disease. Still, there is an epidemic of chronic, treatable diseases like stroke, heart disease, and kidney disease. Hypertension proves to be the underlying factor associated with these diseases. Hypertension is often referred to as the silent killer because of its indication in deadly disease, and the importance of monitoring ones blood pressure is vital. Lifestyle, diet, and genetic predisposition are all factors of high blood pressure. Chronic high blood pressure above safe levels, known as hypertension, puts elevated physical stress on the renal and cardiovascular systems. By controlling this factor in patients, healthcare providers can decrease cardiovascular events, improve health outcomes, and decrease overall mortality. Patient education is often overlooked in its role in the control and prevention of high blood pressure. This paper analyzes the causes and physiology behind high blood pressure as they relate to the current nursing interventions. The role of nurses is discussed in relation to patient education regarding high blood pressure, and educational approaches are analyzed.

rights, health, and safety of the patient.” This provision, identifying patients, medication safety are related because it is a nurse’s responsibility to protect the patient from harm and promote safety. Nurses are taught to use multiple checks before administering a drug and use two identifiers. These checks include checking the medication against the order when obtaining it, checking again when preparing the medication and the last check is done at the patient’s bedside prior to giving the medication. Also it is imperative to question any medication order that does not seem fit. The order should include a date, time, name of the medication, dosage strength, the route for

Studies show nurses play a very important rule of teaching the patients; especially improve patient’s knowledge about the medications (Bradley et al., 2012). Nurses are responsible to educate the patient about the purpose of every medication and their side effects. It is also necessary to tell them some alterations to the medication list (Bradley et al., 2012). The purpose of teaching the patient is to help them understand how the medications benefit them. In this way, they will become more compliant. In addition, it is important for the patients to know how the medications work. For example, they need to hold the some blood pressure pill if they have low blood pressure. There is another example shows nurses successfully improve patient’s condition through medication education. The study by Van Camp et al. (2012) investigated how nurse-led education and counseling enhance medications adherence in chronic dialysis patients. The medication is called phosphate binder that prevents the patient from absorbing phosphate in the food. The study showed “the mean adherence group increased from 83% to 94%, phosphate values decreased from 4.9 to 4.3 mg/dl and the knowledge of the medications increased by twenty percent” (Van

HIPAA requires nurses and nursing students to keep patients’ medical records confidential at all time. For instance, I used computer to review patient’s diagnosis, I made sure that I signed off the computer after using it. I also made sure that all the information I brought home with me did not include patient’s name and other information that identify patient identity.

The nurse must verify the physician’s medication order, including the dose and time, and then the pharmacy is responsible for their own checks and balances via the BCMA system in order to complete the dispensing phase of the medication (Gooder, 2011). The nurse enters the BCMA system with a login and password and is able then to see a list of the virtual due list for a specific patient. The computer on wheels is then taken to that patient’s room and the five rights of medication administration begin. As nurses, we are taught to use the five rights of drug administration are (1) right patient (2) right medication (3) right dose (4) right route and (5) right time. By scanning the barcode on the patient’s hospital identification band, the nurse then asks for the patient to verbally state their name and date of birth, which can be verified by the nurse on the virtual due list and then choses the medication that are due for administration at that time. The medication is dispensed and the nurse is able to scan the barcode on the medication, the scanning triggers the automatic documentation of the medication given (Kelly, 2012).

1554). The study indicated misidentifications of patients could occur, contributing to unsafe patient practices. Wristbands used for identification can assist with identifying the correct patient in the six rights of medication administration. While this is not a failsafe answer it is valuable in providing a safe practice of medication administration to patients.

In 2003, The Joint Commission made one of their first goals to improve the accuracy of identifying patients to reduce or eliminate patient identification errors. This continues to be an accreditation requirement. Their recommendations to do this are to use at least two patient identifiers when administering medications, and when providing treatments or procedures. Acceptable identifiers may be the individual’s name, an assigned identification number, telephone number, or other person-specific identifier. Patient room number or physical location may not be used as an appropriate identifier. Healthcare provides should re-identify the patient with each encounter, each medication pass, and each procedure. There have been procedures and protocols throughout the country have been put into place to make the care provided to patients safer. Another element of this requirement is that all containers should be labeled in the patients presences after using the patient identifiers

The decision process to make patient assignments was not an easy one. I looked at my entire staff and all of my patients. I had to evaluate everything that was happening with the patient and then evaluate my staff in order to know if they were able to care for that patients needs. I used the delegation decision making grid. I took every patient and applied them to the chart for a baseline. Then I took the score they got and gave it to the nurse with the best ability to care for that patient based off what the grid told me to do. I faced several challenges with making patient assignments. My first challenge was when I sat down I wanted to give my hardest patience to the most experienced UAP. When I looked at it the most experienced UAP had all

Data collection is vital in the patient care. From each interaction with the patient and family, the nurse collects data that could determine the patient care. Hence, data collection forms the basis for the patient care. There are different methods to collect the data from the patient and their family. Two of these methods are interviews and use of questionnaires. They have similarities and differences.

When the patient approaches hospital she undergoes the process of registration in which all the information about the patient is stored in the hospital database which doctor can view later on, Moreover if patient has any previous cases regarding her health then that report is also updated on the server. Afterwards patient is allocated a doctor and all information is shared with respective doctor. Patient is given a unique identity and asked her to register herself on an android

The study in this article was trying to determine if a pharmaceutical care program improved medication adherence in hypertension patients. There was a total of 197 participants, 99 in the control group and 98 in the intervention group. Eligible patients had to be at least 18 years old, have a pre-established diagnosis of arterial hypertension, and have been on antihypertensive medication for at least 6 months. The intervention group received pharmaceutical care, which was defined as a baseline visit and quarterly follow up visits. In each of these visits, the pharmacist conducted a thorough interview of each patient, identified problems that lead to poor blood pressure (BP) control, provided education and counseling to each patient, BP

In many healthcare settings, a paper Medication Administration Record (MAR) is still being utilized. Physician orders, both written and oral, must be transcribed from one piece of paper to another piece of paper. This process is often passed through several people before being placed in the patient’s chart. The paper MAR leaves a large margin for error as a result of unclear or illegible orders being transferred from physician to nurse to pharmacy and back. There is clearly a greater risk of drug interactions and double dosing with paper MARs compared to the electronic systems that are now available (Ketchum, 2008). In addition, paper flow sheets, MARs, and physician orders are capable of being misplaced, ruined, or wrongly recorded. This lack of communication and time-consuming paperwork leads to unsafe nursing practice. It also increases the potential for medication errors, ultimately causing harm to patients.

An older adult patient who lives alone is seen by her physician. During the visit, she mentions that she routinely switches or does not take her heart medication depending on how she feels that day. She says she does this because the medications are so expensive, they last longer that way. What teaching needs to be incorporated into the plan of care for this patient?