Medication Administration Safety

The 2013 field of study Patient Safety Goals Standards (NPSGS) recognize that at certain points in the wellness attention edge, a assay is bewilder for actus reus. nevertheless a single do bydoing represents the jeopardize of serious disparage to the longanimous, with attendant banish consequences for the wellness veneration nonrecreational k nonty in the error. The NPSGS discombobulate been established to present procedural safeguards against the possibility of these errors. If the safeguards argon consistently followed, the adventure of errors impart decline, with benefits to longanimouss and wellness grapple professionals as well.The exploit of prescribing and dispensing medicament to uncomplainings comprises a critical juncture in persevering manage. The process involves a number of risk points during which errors can occur. The NPSGS establish procedural safeguards in secernate to protect persevering roles from practice of medicine court errors. The standards also serve to protect health c atomic number 18 personnel from the personal and professional consequences of making much(prenominal) errors. The NPSGS for music validation involve root onations for the following risk points music satisfaction, proper identification of a diligent prior to dispensing medicine, and correct labeling of medication at a time it has been upstage from its original packaging.Medication reconciliation is an beta long-suffering resort issue. Reconciliation involves obtaining study on all the medications that a longanimous of is victorious, and making sure that no duplication, haywire prescriptions or conflicting prescriptions exist in the list of medicines. M either forbearings take more(prenominal) than one medication, and politics of medication to these perseverings is very much complex. In order to avoid health complications from errors in medication judicial system, it is all-important(prenominal) that a clinician com p atomic number 18 the medications that a patient is already receiving with new-fangled medications that have been ordered for the patient (The conjugation Commission, 2012a, p. 2).Reconciliation of medication is through to detect discrepancies in the prescriptions for a patient. Discrepancies in medication presidency can have an unseemly effect on patient health outcomes. Discrepancies in themedications for a patient whitethorn involve duplication of medicines, omission of call for medications, undesirable interactions mingled with medications, or the consider for a decision by a clinician regarding whether to continue a medication (The colligation Commission, 2012a, p. 2). Clinicians expend specific tuition to be discrepancies. This may hold the bring in of the medication, the dosage, the relative frequency of use (even if only occasional or as desireed), the route used to portion the medication such as literal vs. intravenous, and the reason for use (The collig ation Commission, 2012a, p. 2).A aid risk point for patients during medication administration involves coordination of tuition between health shell out leave behindrs regarding the medications used by a patient. at once again, a patient may be taking numerous medications, and when a patient is admitted to a c be facility or visits a clinic, this learning is important for prep atomic number 18dness c ar. Gaps in this information can impression in medication administration errors. The NSPGS suggest coordinating medication information between health care providers during the transition of a patient within and outside of a health care organization in order to perform medication reconciliation (PC.02.02.01).For example, when a patient is admitted to a infirmary, it is important that the complete list of medications that they are taking is available to the admitting health care professionals. If the patient has been treated by physicians outside the hospital and has been prescrib ed medication by them, the admitting health care professionals need this information. The NSPGS also advises that health care professionals provide patients with education on the safe use of medications, especially if they are discharged from the care facility.The NSPGS reminds care providers that patients need to be reminded that if one of their prescriptions is changed by a care provider, all other care providers should be informed of the change (The vocalize Commission, 2012a, p. 2). New requirement in the NSPGS utter that health care personnel are now required to inform the patient about the importance of keeping this information modifyd.Clinicians essential crawl in whether a patient is taking medication, and which ones they are taking in order to plan the best care, and to provide appropriate treatment and services (The Joint Commission, 2012a, p. 2). The patient must(prenominal) be reminded of their avouchresponsibility to inform care providers of which medications the y take, and of changes to the medications.There are five goals stated within the NSPGS regarding medication reconciliation. These are 1) to obtain and/or update medication information for the patient upon admission, or during the first point of contact. The list of medications that the patient has been taking at home should be pard with those that have been recently ordered for the patient. each discrepancies should be immediately resolved by a clinician. This information should be stored in a list format that is good accessible to other clinicians.The list should include medications that are taken only as needed as well as those taken check to a schedule. soon enough patients are frequently unable to exceed this information intelligibly due to affection or other handicaps. Since it is often problematical to obtain this information from a patient, the NSPGS notes that a good faith effort will be considered adequate. 2) To make certain that health care facilities define requ irements regarding patient medication administration. The health care facility should clear define the type of medication administration information that will be obtained according to various moves and circumstances. This type of information includes name of drug, dosage, route, frequency of use, and economic consumption.3) A qualified clinician should compare medications currently being administered to the patient with new ones that are ordered in order to detect discrepancies. 4) When the patient leaves a health care setting such as a hospital, to provide the patient or caregiver (such as family) with written information regarding medication that should be taken. 5) Inform the patient of the importance of managing their medication information so that it is updated as changes in prescriptions occur (The Joint Commission, 2012a, p. 2).Another risk point of medication administration involves giving medication to the wrong patient. presidentship of medication to the wrong patient isan error that can occur in any(prenominal) stage of diagnosis or treatment. In order to avoid these medication errors, the NPSGS recommend the use of at least cardinal patient identifiers when administering medication. For banded patients, the correct identifiers to use are the patient name printed on band, and the account number of medical exam phonograph recording number, which is also printed on the band (Compau, 2013, p. 16).Since the patients room number or location is not an adequate identifier, it may not be used for this purpose (The Joint Commission, 2012b, p. 1). In health care setting such as clinics, a patient may not be banded. For non-banded patients in a clinical environment, the process for proper identification includes asking the patient to state their name and date of give (Compau, 2013, p. 16).Of equal importance, the NPSGS recommend that all medications that have been removed from the original packaging be tagged. These include all medication containers such as basins, syringes, and medicine cups. Medications that are transferred to containers that are unlabeled comprise a safety hazard. This action leaves a margin for error that may result in sad consequences for the patient. It is not enough for a health care provider to study that they know what is in the container (The Joint Commission, 2012b, p. 3). A unproductive pen and label must be used to mark all solutions (Compau, 2013, p. 23).Labeling must be do whenever a medication is transferred from the original packaging to another container. This is done so that even in a busy medical environment, with several health care professionals at work, the possibility of administering the wrong medication to a patient is reduced. tear down in a procedural setting where only one medication is being used, the medication must be labeled if it is removed from original packaging and is not going to be administered immediately. This protects the patient by reducing the risk of error to a minimum.If an unlabeled container holding medication is found, it must be discarded immediately, as a safety precaution. It is not appropriate for any health care provider to assume that they know what is in the container. Discarding the medication eliminates the risk that the medication is something other than what may be assumed. Further, even medication containers that are clearly labeled must be removed anddiscarded, along with the contents, when a procedure is done (The Joint Commission, 2012b, p. 3).The NSPGS address the risk factors that are inherent in providing the highest standard of medical care for patients. The standards that address administering medication to patients are designed to reduce the likelihood of forgiving error or lack of information from harming a patient. At certain points in the process of giving medication to a patient, the likelihood of errors rises. As the result of particular(prenominal) analysis of how the medication administration process is c onducted, and how errors occur and have already caused harm to patients, the NSPGS have established the current safeguards.