Target High Risk Areas for Medication Errors

Target High Risk Areas for Medication Errors

Medication errors are among the biggest issues in health care settings today. The effect of managed care is one of the causative factors. The need to contain costs has invariably doubled the nurses' workload making them less efficient as caregivers. Example of problem is the high incidence of medication errors. Nurses' workload has increased tremendously regardless of the fact that most of these patients are of great acuity, thereby predisposing them to a greater risk of medication errors.

Medication giving include five basic rights: Right patient, Right medication, Right route, Right dose, and Right time. Contrary to the above is medication errors. Most medication errors reported involve patient allergies, insulin administration , heparin, opiates, patient controlled analgesia and potassium concentrates. Most errors with PCA devices are with rate, misprogrammed dose, wrong concentration and device malfunction errors. However, lack of basic knowledge and poor performance have also caused these errors.

Another area of great concern with medication error is order transcription. Poor

Transcription or orders have resulted in wrong information passed on to a patient

Whether n a discharge or as an in patient. Clarification in the case of doubt is a weapon

against order transcription error. Most nurses have poor concentration due to the amount

of their work load that they could hardly call back the doctor to clarify either the order

clearly written or an illegible order, then arriving to their own assumption.

Administering medication later than specified time ordered or missed medication

is an area of issue. Some prophylactics given before or after according to specified order

are lifesavers. When a patient is scheduled for a surgery, prophylactic anticoagulant is

administered to prevent clots and perhaps continues post-op. If such a patient is not given

his/her medication as ordered he could break a clot resulting to embolism.

Incorrect patient history has resulted to medication errors. It is obvious that

nurses' workload permits them with a limited time that a complete or basic issue in

patient history is neglected resulting to a serious health crisis or ever death and lawsuits.

Poor documentation is among the biggest issue with nurses. It has been said,"if

you don't chart is you didn't do it". Documenting properly bails you from a lawsuit. Most

nurses are quite busy especially with another patient of a high acuity and have no time to