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Medication error risks
Examples of medication errors
Previous research statement on medication errors in hospitals
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It is one of a nurse’s duty in the medical field to administer medications, this means that one nurse is in charge of keeping track of multiple patient’s medication. Due to the amount of medication administered by nurses, medication errors occur more often than we would like, especially with younger patients. I chose this topic because medications are given to practically every patient that enters a hospital and ensuring that they are administered properly is important to keeping the patients safe. A study was done in a pediatric intensive care unit at a hospital in Zurich to “determine the number and type of medication prescription errors” (Glanzmann, Frey, Meier, & Vonbach, 2015, p. 1) that typically happen in this unit of the hospital. The goals of the study were to learn about the rate of medication errors, the most common drugs involved in the errors and how severely they affected the patient. …show more content…
The most common error made was dosage selection but other errors, like drug selection and drug formulation contributed to that percentage as well. Due to the fact that this study was done in a pediatric unit of the hospital, it is possible that the rate of error is higher than it would be in other units of a hospital servicing different patients because “calculations are often more complex” (Glanzmann et al., 2015, p. 8) with children because they typically requires you to consider their weight. In situations such as this it is easier to make calculation mistakes because the dosage amount is unique to each
For my research paper, I will be discussing the impact of medication errors on vulnerable populations, specifically the elderly. Technology offers ways to reduce medication errors using electronic bar-coding medication administration (BCMA) systems. However, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are not using these systems. Medication is still administered with a paper or electronic medication administration record (eMAR), without barcode scanning. In contrast, every hospital I have been in: as a patient, nursing student, and nurse uses BCMA systems. The healthcare system is neglecting the elderly. Nursing homes should use BCMAs to reduce the incidents of medication errors.
Nurses were the professional group who most often reported medication errors and older patients were those most often affected in the medication errors reports analyzed for this study (Friend, 2011). Medication error type’s revealed omitted medicine or dose, wrong dose, strength or frequency and wrong documentation were the most common problems at Site A where the traditional pen and paper methods of prescription were used; and wrong documentation and omission were the most common problems associated with medication errors at Site B where the electronic MMS was introduced (Friend, 2011). Reports of problems such as wrong drug, wrong dose, strength or frequency, quantity, wrong route, wrong drug and omitted dose were less frequent at Site B (Friend, 2011). The reduced incidence of omission errors at Site B supports suggestions that an advantage of the MMS is easy identification of patient requirements at each drug round time slot. Despite the finding of less omission errors at site B where the MMS had been introduced, there was a relatively high frequency in the incident reports of medication errors related to both omission and wrong dose, strength and frequency at both sites (Friend, 2011).
Over the past several years extended work shifts and overtime has increased among nurses in the hospital setting due to the shortage of nurses. Errors significantly increase and patient safety can be compromised when nurses work past a twelve hour shift or more than 40 hours a week. Hazardous conditions are created when the patient acuity is high, combined with nurse shortages, and a rapid rate of admissions and discharges. Many nurses today are not able to take regularly scheduled breaks due to the patient work load. On units where nurses are allowed to self-schedule, sixteen and twenty-four hour shifts are becoming more common, which does not allow for time to recover between shifts. Currently there are no state or federal regulations that restrict nurses from working excessive hours or mandatory overtime to cover vacancies. This practice by nurses is controversial and potentially dangerous to patients (Rogers, Hwang, Scott, Aiken, & Dinges, 2004). Burnout, job dissatisfaction, and stress could be alleviated if the proper staffing levels are in place with regards to patient care. Studies indicate that the higher the nurse-patient ratio, the worse the outcome will be. Nurse Manager’s need to be aware of the adverse reactions that can occur from nurses working overtime and limits should be established (Ford, 2013).
Unver, V., Tastan, S., & Akbayrak, N. (2012). Medication errors: Perspectives of newly graduated and experienced nurses. International Journal Of Nursing Practice, 18(4), 317-324. doi:10.1111/j.1440-172X.2012.02052.x
Some method such as audits, chart reviews, computer monitoring, incident report, bar codes and direct patient observation can improve and decrease medication errors. Regular audits can help patient’s care and reeducate nurses in the work field to new practices. Also reporting of medication errors can help with data comparison and is a learning experience for everyone. Other avenues that has been implemented are computerized physician order entry systems or electronic prescribing (a process of electronic entry of a doctor’s instructions for the treatment of patients under his/her care which communicates these orders over a computer network to other staff or departments) responsible for fulfilling the order, and ward pharmacists can be more diligence on the prescription stage of the medication pathway. A random survey was done in hospital pharmacies on medication error documentation and actions taken against pharmacists involved. A total of 500 hospital were selected in the United States. Data collected on the number of medication error reported, what types of errors were documented and the hospital demographics. The response rate was a total of 28%. Practically, all of the hospitals had policies and procedures in place for reporting medication errors.
Furthermore, short staffing affects the quality direct care each patient receives. The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (2012) states an estimated 98,000 individuals die every year from medical errors in the United States. One out of many significant tasks nurses do within their scope of practice is medication administration. Research shows a relationship between short staffing on medication errors: the longer the hours nurses work, the higher the chances of medication errors (Garnett, 2008). (include definition of medication error) Administering medications requires knowledge of patient rights, pharmacological information on the drug, adverse effects, proper dosage calculations, and hospital protocols. When nurses are assigned more patients, they are pressured to give due medications on time. Sometimes due to hunger or fatigue, nurses give the wrong medication to the wrong patient (Frith, Anderson, Tseng, & Fong, 2012).
Agyemang, REO, and A While. "Medication errors: types, causes and impact on nursing practice." British Journal of Nursing (BJN) 19.6 (2010): 380-385. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.
It is not unheard of for a nurse to accidentally make a medication error by not following the five rights of medication administration; this could potentially harm a patient. If the nurse reports the mistake right away to their supervisor, regardless of the consequences and makes sure the patient is safe they are being honest and acting in the best interest of their pat...
Tzeng, H., Yin, C., & Schneider, T. E. (2013). Medication Error-Related Issues In Nursing Practice. MEDSURG Nursing, 22(1), 13-50.
Medication errors made by medical staff bring about consequences of epidemic proportions. Medical staff includes everyone from providers (medical doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) to pharmacists to nurses (registered and practical). Medication errors account for almost 98,000 deaths in the United States yearly (Tzeng, Yin, & Schneider, 2013). This number only reflects the United States, a small percentage in actuality when looking at the whole world. Medical personnel must take responsibility for their actions and with this responsibility comes accountability in their duties of medication administration. Nurses play a major role in medication error prevention and education and this role distinguishes them as reporters of errors.
O’Shea, E (1999) Factors contributing to medication errors: a literature review. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 8, 5,496-503.
The most common kind of medication error is administering the wrong medication or giving wrong doses. A medication error is any error that happens to patients whether they suffer any harmful results or not. Inappropriate nurses-to-patients ratio should be taken into consideration because it can cause medication errors. A new study shows that every year about 210,000-400,000 people who were admitted to the hospital die due to medication error; it also shows that is is “the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer”(MacDonald). For instance, an interview was done with Nurse Carol, a retired nurse; she said that she made a medication error while administering medication to one of her patients. She said that she was rushing and accidentally gave Cozaar to one of her patients instead of Colace. Cozaar is often used for high blood pressure and Colace is for constipation. She said her patient’s pressure dropped very low after taking the medication; she realized then that she gave the patient the wrong medication. Nurse Carol also said that if she did no...
six percent of these medication errors occurred at the time of admission, time of discharge or
What classifies as a Medication errors? An error can occur any time during the medication administration process. A medication error can be explained as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer” (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, 2014, para 1). Rather it is at prescribing, transcribing, dispensing or at the time of administration all these areas are equally substantial in producing possible errors that could potentially harm the patient (Flynn, Liang...
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 the nursing profession, taking up to forty percent of a nurse’s time in providing nursing care (Fowler). Consequently, nurses are commonly held accountable for medication errors. To improve the safety of a vital aspect of nursing care, bar code scanning was introduced to reduce errors in medication administration. Although bar code scanning has its advantageous aspects, there are also disadvantageous qualities.