Medical Errors

Medical Errors

According to most healthcare professionals, medical errors are perceived as a failure in the patient treatment process and can harm such patients. The treatment process entails medication; therefore, as they say, “to error is human.” Medical errors have been mentioned and recognized as the leading cause of death or drug-related injuries to many patients (Bari, Khan, & Rathore, 2016). At the start of the 21^st century, the reports compiled by the Institute of Medicine showed high mortality rates in healthcare facilities connected with the abovementioned medical errors. According to Bari, Khan, & Rathore’s (2016) perception, 18% of the patients reported serious errors, whereas 48% indicated minor errors. In this context, medical errors are considered the third primary cause of death after heart disease and cancer. In this regard, the path to patient safety is vital as it helps nursing practitioners stay up-to-date with current evidence-based practices that help decision-making. This will, in return, support healthcare professionals to avoid medical errors outlined in the context below.

According to Weant, Bailey, and Baker (2014), medical errors can occur in various ways. One, they can happen when the doctor is choosing Medicine. The clinicians can be inappropriate or irrational, resulting in overprescribing or underprescribing Medicine. Medical errors can also occur when nurses write prescriptions, resulting in illegible prescription errors. Weant, Bailey, and Baker (2014) stated that prescribing phase accounts for 71% of serious medical errors. Thirdly, nurses can give the wrong dose, use the wrong drug delivery route, or give Medicine to the patient during the wrong duration. Medical errors can also occur during therapy monitoring or when the clinician is dispensing information. All these failures indicate there should be set standards that nurses must adhere to and comply with.

PICOT Question: Do clinicians with an in-depth understanding of education concerning interruption during the drug administration process have reduced interruptions compared to those who do not have nursing education while protecting the patients and themselves?

 References

Bari, A., Khan, R. A., & Rathore, A. W. (2016). Medical errors; causes, consequences, emotional response, and resulting behavioural change. Pakistan Journal of medical sciences, 32(3), 523–528. doi:10.12669/poms.323.9701

Weant, K. A., Bailey, A. M., & Baker, S. N. (2014). Strategies for reducing medication errors in the emergency department. Open access emergency medicine: OAEM, 6, 45–55. doi:10.2147/OAEM.S64174

Wittich, C. M., Burkle, C. M., & Lanier, W. L. (2014, August). Medication errors: an overview for clinicians. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 89, No. 8, pp. 1116-1125). Elsevier.

Salmasi, S., Khan, T. M., Hong, Y. H., Ming, L. C., & Wong, T. W. (2015). Medication errors in Southeast Asian countries: a systematic review. PLoS One, 10(9), e0136545.

Khammarnia, M., Ravangard, R., Barfar, E., & Setoodehzadeh, F. (2015). Medical Errors and Barriers to Reporting in Ten Hospitals in Southern Iran. The Malaysian Journal of medical sciences: MJMS, 22(4), 57–63.

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Discuss why medical error is the 3rd leading cause of death in the US (after heart disease and cancer).  What ideas are put forth to track the prevalence of medical error reporting better? Do you think these are achievable?   Limit to 200 words without references APA style.