A Literature Review About Mecication Errors Essay

IntroductionAn err social unityousness rove of 5% is acceptable in roughly industries, merely, in the wellness negociate attention one single demerit slew case in death. (Berntsen, 2004, p5) This written report discusses medicament misplays in relation to p deteriorationacology and dose treatment. It leave behind summarize iii donnish peer reviewed journal holds, followed by general teaching in relation to medicinal medicate actus reuss, the impact of medicine flaws on knob c ar, strategies to hold open medicinal do do dosess errorsand conclude with the birth to nursing.Summary of Articles Related to Medication freewheelors.The initial condition is by Karin Berntsen, 2004, and is entitled How utmost Has Health C ar Come Since To Err is Human? Exploring Use of Medical f every last(predicate)acy Data. This is a review of what changes gull been made since a medicine error hide written by the bring of Medicine was published in 1999. This oblige depi cts how the wellness c ar system has changed since this 1999 report was written, and how the information was utilized for our benefit. They concluded that in the USA, medical errors were one of the top 8 leading rides of death. They reported the cost for these errors was amidst $17 Billion to $29 one thousand million dollars. Until a new report is completed, health c be providers will be unconscious(predicate) whether their goals in increasing patient safety device were accomplished. The article make ups that in that respect has been progress in regards to prevention of medicine errors and health c atomic number 18 leaders feel passionate close increasing patient safety. (Berntsen 2004)The second article is by William N. Kelly, 2004, and is titled Medication Errors Lessons acquire and Actions Needed and highlights the death of a one year old child who was diagnosed with cancer. She later died, non from the cancer, but from receiving an in typeset window pane of a dose that she was being inured with. This report indicates that musics are systematicall(a)y check up on and balanced and errors are usually caught in front a dose is administered to a patient. The article states that riddles are not being single-minded in a timely manner since the industry has been putting band instigate on problems that need major mathematical process.(Kelly 2004). In conclusion, the article questions whether or not they are taking the secure barbel in preventing errors. M any(prenominal) people are trying to fix this problem however errors are still made to a fault frequently. (Kelly 2004)The final article is by rosemary M. Preston, 2004, and is titled Drug Errors and Patient golosh A Need for Change in Practice. This article presents that errors continue to play for many reasons. It concentrates upon calculations errors, lack of knowledge of medicines, all over/under dosing do drugss,interactions with drugs and food, and legalities regarding drug authorities. It also presents recommendations to diminish the risk of drug errors with good intercourse and honesty. The article closes by stating that nurses should never pronounce the skills needed for safe disposal of medicines. (Preston 2004) bring up aspects medicine errors and their ca affairs.To understand the impact that music errors thrust on a patient, we have to understand what a medical specialty error is. match to Health Canada online, a medication error is defined asevery preventable event that may ca role or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the watch of the health cover master key, patient, or consumer. much(prenominal) events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing order conversation product distinguishling, packaging, and nomenclature compounding dispensing statistical distribution administration education monitoring and use. Developed for use by the National Coordinating Council on Medication Error Reporting and Prevention( http//www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ side of meat/index.html)Medication errors overtake for a form of reasons. An error can affect all areas of a health care quickness from health care counsel, staff, physicians, pharmacy and especially patients. Studies have indicated that errors will usually occur when the staff demonstrates signs of fatigue, stress, are over-worked or light upon frequent interruptions and distractions. When physicians display bad flip overwriting, in streamlined communication with patients, and do not build up staff and patients effectively, a medication error is more than(prenominal) apparent to happen. Poor management can will in more medication errors when there is an emphasis on volume, over service quality. This results in unequal to(predicate) staffing and disorganization. Medication errors affect all components of the health care environment. (http//www.napra.org/do cs/0/95/157-/166.asp) blow on customer care.As perturbing as it sounds, one miniscule error can result in a patients taint or can even lead to their death. According to the American ledger of Medicine, statistics reveal that more than two million American hospitalized patients suffered a serious adverse drug response in relation to injury indoors the 12-month period and, of these, over 100,000 died as a result. http//www4.nationalacademies.org/news) Death and injury is a misfortunate reality to any single error.The governing established vi rights of drug administration to prevent medication errors and attend accuracy. These six rights implicate well(p) drug, right dose, Right client, right route, right time and right documentation. (Kozier & Erb 2004)Injuries that result from a medication error are called adverse drug events. Usually, these forbidding effect can be eliminated and injury can be avoided. However, every drug produces harmful side agent, but the severiti es of these effects vary from individual to individual. These side effects also depend on the drug and the dose given. (Kozier & Erb 2004)Health care professionals moldiness report all errors and are responsible for their actions. No matter how insignificant, nurses are taught to document and report all mistakes. When statistics show what types of errors are made, an depth psychology can be through with(p). This analysis can be used to image ways to prevent them medication errors. (Berntsen, 2004)When a nurse does not report a mistake, the probability that it will happen over again will increase.Medication errors have a huge impact on client care. They can result in death, injury, and result in unwanted effects of drugs. It is our debt instrument as nurses to comply with the clients six rights of drug administration, to prevent errors from taking place.Strategies to prevent medication errors.There are many efficient ways to prevent nurses from making an error. To jibe patient safety in all aspects of client care, nurses are taught to think critically, and to problem solve. Nurses use critical thinking to realize safe, knowledgeable, nursing performance and they essential be able to keep up with updated health facts by constantly educating themselves with new information. (Kozier & Erb 2004) slender thinking assists in the prevention of medication errors.The six rights in drug administration help prevent medication errors from occurring. It is classical to maintain the highest standards of practice of these rights for a drug to be prepared properly. Failure to rive to any one of these rights will unquestionably result in a medication error. (Clayton & Stock, 2004)Take your time when preparing medications and research any unknown drugs. Rushing should be avoided when preparing, administering and recital medication labels. Proper research essential be done originally an unacquainted with(predicate) drug is administered it to a client. Even when in a rushed emergency situation, drugs should be looked at carefully to know the cook up concentration and name of the drug, to prevent injury. (http//www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ face/index.html)Labels should be read carefully and accurately. sooner a drug is given to a patient, three checks should be done to ensure you are giving the proper drug and dose. In a situation where you are unsure of a drug order, you are expected to refuse the order and crystalise it by law. If an individual is unfamiliar with a particular drug, the drug should not be given. (http//www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp)When a label is unclear, do not try not to examine the drug order yourself. Do not request an associate, or ask for anyone elses interpretation of the drug. To get the correct information, contact the individual who ordered the drug to clarify the label. In order to slack the misadventures of error, verify all unclear hand writing, abbreviations, decimal points, decimal places and dosages. (http// www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157-/166.asp)Use of dosage abbreviations should not be used to avoid drug miscalculations. venereal disease abbreviations are misinterpreted more often, than any otherwise type of abbreviation. Using standardized abbreviations, would assist in preventing misinterpretation of abbreviations. (Preston 2004)A drug check should be done three times prior to the administration of a drug. The drug label should correspond with the physicians orders. The three checks should be done Before removing the drug from the shelf or dosage cart, before preparing or amount the actual prescribed dose, and before transposition the drug on the shelf or before opening a unit dose container, just before administering a dose to a patient. (Clayton & Stock, 2004)Do not make assumptions regarding drugs. Physicians, pharmacists, make mistakes and other part of the health system may be flawed. For example, when documentation shows the patient has no drug allergy, it is wrongful to as sume the patient will have no adverse answer to a new drug. This could result in detrimental results to a clients health. Therefore no assumptions should ever me made. (http//www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html)A quiet environment for preparing medications will prevent prescription errors from occurring. Sometimes, nurses are repeatedly interrupt when preparing a medication. Distractions interfere with processing information and decision making. Errors will least likely occur when preparations are done when there are no distractions. (http//www.ismp.org-/ToolsAllina-Orientation.html)When preventing errors, staff must be certain all dosage calculations are correct and clarified. It may be beneficial to ask a accessory to assist you in checking doses, to minimize the chance of miscalculations. Other suggestions to minimize error include making pre-calculated conversion cards, always use a leading zero before a decimal, never use a zero after the decimal and include indicati ons whenever possible. Miscalculations are preventable if proper methods of inspecting calculations are used. (Preston2004, p.72)Assess for the effects of drugs to avoid harming a client. A client must be quantifyed before and after a drug is given. For instance, before giving an oral medication, assess whether the client can swallow or feels nauseated. An appropriate follow up should be done after a medication is administered. It is important to check if the client experienced the desired effect of the drug. Significant vicarious responses to drug should be reported to the physician. (Kozier & Erb 2004)Conclusion.To finalize this assignment, medication errors are mistakes that can cause harm to patients and can even result in death. The articles that have been summarized illustrate situations where medication errors have occurred and review what the health care industry is doing to prevent errors. A medication error is preventable and errors can be caused by a variety of reasons. This paper has discussed the impact medication errors have on client care and strategies of how to prevent errors from occurring. As a nurse, this knowledge will assist me in keeping beneficence a priority for client care.ReferencesClayton, Bruce D., BS, RPh, PharmD, and Yvonne N. Stock, MS, BSN, RN. Basic pharmacological medicine for Nurses. 13th ed. United States of America Mosby, 2004. regimen of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from HealthCanada blade rate (http//www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ position/index.html)Kelly, William N. Medication Errors. Professional Safety 49 35. Academic hunting Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 .Government of Canada Online. (2004, Summer). Retrieved July 18, 2004, from HealthCanada Web site (http//www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/index.html)Kozier & Erb, Barbara, et al. Fundamentals of Nursing. 7th ed. velocity Saddle River, New Jersey Pearson scholar Hall, 2004.Minimizing Medication Errors. (n.d.). In NAPRA National tie beam of PharmacyRegulatory Authorities. Retrieved July 17, 2004, from NAPRA National standstill of Pharmacy Regulatory Authorities Web site http//www.napra.org/docs/0/95/157/166.aspPreston, rosemary M. Drug errors and patients safety the need for a change inpractice. British Journal of Nursing (BJN) 13 72. Academic Search Elite. EBSCO. Assiniboine Community College. 22 July 2004 .