Why Is Medication Safety Important
Medication Safety
Introduction
When an individual is sick or injured and visits a hospital, medication plays an important role in their recovery. Nurses play a vital role in the administration of medication in the clinical setting and surprisingly there are many errors that occur that could result in more complications or even death. On average hospitalized patients experience one medication error per day (Xu, et al, 2014, p. 286). There are many reasons as to why errors occur but there are also many different ways to prevent those errors from happening. It takes a lot of knowledge and focus to ensure errors are kept at a minimum to none. Through extensive research, there are several procedures that need to be taken to ensure the safe keep of each patient. With knowledge and practice with equipment, policies, and practices nurses are able to decrease medication errors.
Nurses Involvement
Providers are the individuals who prescribe medication. There are many different ways that providers are able to order medication; through a computerized software, through …show more content…
Computerized orders allow the opportunity for providers to send prescriptions to a nurse more quickly and efficiently versus other methods. The electronic medical system allows nurses to retrieve essential information about medications that they may need regarding certain medications to ensure that there are no contradictions with allergies, diagnosis, or anything that may lead to a medication error (Athanasakis, 2012, p. 778). One system that improves medication safety is automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) by reducing medication administration errors (Oldland, et al., 2015). A pharmacy technician checks all of the medications ensuring that the medications are in the right location along with the right dose which aids nurses while administrating medication (Oldland, et al.,
Introduction
When an individual is sick or injured and visits a hospital, medication plays an important role in their recovery. Nurses play a vital role in the administration of medication in the clinical setting and surprisingly there are many errors that occur that could result in more complications or even death. On average hospitalized patients experience one medication error per day (Xu, et al, 2014, p. 286). There are many reasons as to why errors occur but there are also many different ways to prevent those errors from happening. It takes a lot of knowledge and focus to ensure errors are kept at a minimum to none. Through extensive research, there are several procedures that need to be taken to ensure the safe keep of each patient. With knowledge and practice with equipment, policies, and practices nurses are able to decrease medication errors.
Nurses Involvement
Providers are the individuals who prescribe medication. There are many different ways that providers are able to order medication; through a computerized software, through …show more content…
Computerized orders allow the opportunity for providers to send prescriptions to a nurse more quickly and efficiently versus other methods. The electronic medical system allows nurses to retrieve essential information about medications that they may need regarding certain medications to ensure that there are no contradictions with allergies, diagnosis, or anything that may lead to a medication error (Athanasakis, 2012, p. 778). One system that improves medication safety is automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) by reducing medication administration errors (Oldland, et al., 2015). A pharmacy technician checks all of the medications ensuring that the medications are in the right location along with the right dose which aids nurses while administrating medication (Oldland, et al.,