The Six Rights and Medication Errors

The standards, during this case, are referred to as the rights of medication administration and over the years there are 5, then six and currently in several places eight rights. All medication errors may be connected, in a way, to AN inconsistency in adhering to those rights of medication administration. The rights are educated in nursing education and coaching, as well as they are enforced by the nursing board and the employer.

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

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA 2009), the wrong route of administrating medication accounts for 1.3 million injuries each year. An article published in September issue of the Journal of Patient Safety estimates there are between 210,000 and 400,000 deaths per year associated with medical errors. This makes medical errors the third leading cause of deaths in the United States, behind that comes heart disease and cancer. To prevent medical errors always follow the Three Checks and most importantly the Rights of Medication Administration. The “Rights of Medication Administration” helps to ensure accuracy when administering medication to a patient. When administering medication the administer should ensure they have the Right Medication, Right Patient, Right Dosage, Right Route, Right Time, Right Route, Right Reason, and Right Documentation. Also remember the patient has the right to refuse, assess patient for pain, and always assess the patient for signs of effects.

Medication errors are the leading cause of morbidity and preventable death in hospitals (Adams). In fact, approximately 1.5 million Americans are injured each year as a result of medication errors in hospitals (Foote). Not only are medication errors harmful to patients but medication errors are very expensive for hospitals. Medication errors cost America’s health care system 3.5 billion dollars per year (Foote).Errors in medication administration occurs when one of the five rights of medication administration is omitted. The five rights are: a) the right dose, b) the right medication, c) the right patient, d) the right route of administration, and e) the right time of delivery (Adams). Medication administration is an essential part of

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

There are several types of medication, each has a purpose and function needed for their administration via the different routes.

6. Right documentation- The seven rights should be documented with great detail along with any adverse events and instructions provided to the patient regarding being alert of reactions and what steps to take. This step should always follow the administration of medications. The person who has administered the medication needs to verify again that all the seven rights were followed to make sure that no medication errors were made. After the end of this order,without leaving any lines or spaces the person administering the order signs his or her name along with there credentials and followed by the date and time the order was given. In some instances the medical assistant may write down the information regarding a medication administered by the provider in the provider’s stead,but the provider still needs to sign, date and time the entry personally. The medical assistant should never document a medication for anyone else nor should anyone else record medication that the medical assistant (you)

Right Time: Check that the time is right for the medicine and if there is a requirement for before or after food.

Outcome measures assess whether the interventions to improve medication safety practice will be successful. During the interview of the new employee, competency evaluation related to medication administration will be applied first. In addition, during the orientation for these new employees, adequate training will be provided to ensure the importance of preventing medication errors. They will be given a list of similar and look-alike medications and will focus on medications that cause the most adverse reactions when errors may occur. Then, after training and when staff start working, they will be supervised during their first few months. When they are not supervised, they will be assessed and evaluated for any errors. During this process,

This article will look at two articles and focus on aspects of safety medication administration in nursing practice by the staff nurses. This is interesting area because the previous report on the medication administration error in the UK shows that approximately 5.6% of doses administered to adult hospital patients and it has been estimated that 0.6-1.2% of medication administration errors may lead to severe harm even death (Mcleod et al, 2013). Leape et al (1995) indicated that nurses were responsible for 86% of all medication error interception, regardless of the original errors. The nurses play the important role in identifying the causes of medication errors and preventing medication administration errors in nursing practice in order to provide safe care toward the service users (Henneman et al, 2010). The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA 2004) documented that the health professionals need to effectively and safely use medicines to ensure patients get the maximum benefit from the medicine; meanwhile minimizing the potential harm. This article will be critiqued on the different types of evidence which explored safety medication administration in the nursing practice toward service user. Using evidence is important in nursing practice because it can help nurses in addressing questions related to best possible care and improve patients’ outcome. It is embedded within the code the nurses are expected to use best possible evidence in the nursing

patients follow directions and be aware of potential interactions with other drugs. Don’t just change your dose without discussing with your doctor first. Never use another persons prescription.

All persons who administer medications should have adequate access to patient information, as close to the point of use as possible, including medical history, known allergies, prognosis, and treatment plan, to assess the appropriateness of administering the medication. (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention).

Safe medication practices are key to every nurse since it results to safe medication administration. When medication is not administered correctly it results to adverse drug event which refers to harm to the patient that includes mental harm, physical harm, or loss of function which is as a result of a medication error (practices, 2017). Medication errors occur when a mistake is committed by a person administering medication and in order to avoid these errors safe medication practices need to be adhered to. Some of these

It is the nurse’s and pharmacist’s job to be cautious and aware of every medication they are administering by using their critical thinking skills and applying what they know to every situation. Although it is important for these individuals to be able to advocate for their patients, it also imperative that prescribers be aware of the impact they have on their patients as their actions have a domino effect. In conclusion, it is not the responsibility of a single profession to maintain safety in medication administration. It is the responsibility of everyone involved in the patient’s care. Each person who takes steps to improve the process and promote the patient as the number one priority is doing their part in refining how the healthcare system views medication

Every day there is a constant trust adhered to many different people in the profession of Nursing—the decision of what will help patients in terms of medicine, and the confidence to make these decisions. One false act or one slight misdiagnoses of medication to a patient could be the prime factor in whether the patient lives or dies. Nurses in hospitals across the country are spread thin, and thus makes the probability of mistakes higher. If a medicinal dose is off by even one decimal a patient could die, so the only real answer is for nurses to not be afraid to ask for assistance, always follow procedure and voice opinion is they feel something is wrong.