Medication Errors
A medication error is a medical or human error that leads to inappropriate medication use that causes harm to a patient. It mainly occurs when a medical professional uses an improper care method or wrongly executes it. Medication errors are preventable events in any healthcare setting. There are many types of medication errors; some are minor, while others are major. Medication errors can be classified depending on when and how they happened during care delivery. Though it is a big problem in the healthcare sector, it can be solved for the common good of all patients worldwide.
A medication error can occur in the sequence of medication. It can occur in prescribing, dispensing, administration, transcribing, and monitoring of medicine to the patient. The different medication errors are wrong dose, drug, administration route, patient, or frequency. Medication errors can be mistakes made during action planning, also called knowledge-based mistakes. They can also be mistakes made during the execution of activities that were well planned, also called action/memory-based mistakes (Word Health Organization, 2016). While all errors are harmful, the severity varies depending on the mistake made. Medication errors mostly happen in hospitals and are a leading cause of patient mortality.
Medication errors are a significant issue in the healthcare industry; one of my close family friends received an adverse reaction and had to get hospitalized for a wrong drug prescription. Sometimes, we hear stories of how a patient was given the wrong medicine or died due to new infections acquired in the hospitals. It’s not until the reality of medication errors knocks at your door that you realize how dangerous it is in the healthcare sector. It’s not fair for a patient’s life to be put in danger by the people they have entrusted with their health. The issue affects the patient and their family/friends, the health care providers, and the hospital. To the patient, the effect can range from minimal or notable consequences to death. It can cause the patient to have a new health condition, either permanent or temporary. Medication errors can cause the patient to have a severe injury (Tariq et al., 2021). Second, losing a loved one is devastating; knowing that their death was preventable makes it even harder to accept the outcome of events. Third, healthcare professionals responsible for medical errors can suffer from self-doubt, shame, and guilt (Wolf and Hughes, n.d.). The professionals are known as the second victim, and the syndrome is life-threatening. The family and friends of the patient can pursue a lawsuit for negligence against the healthcare provider. It affects the career advancement of that nurse or doctor with the possibility of their license being revoked. Litigation imposes more emotional turmoil on the healthcare professional. Lastly, the healthcare institution is also exposed and can be sued as a result of the error. The family and friends of the patient may file a lawsuit against the health care institution or hospital where the nurse or doctor is employed, resulting in damaged reputation and financial costs in terms of prosecution and fines if found liable.
Additionally, the institution can be exposed to further internal repercussions in terms of expenses and time lost. There will be an increase in expenses due to prolonged hospitalization of the affected patient, and it’s time-consuming and costly to follow up and deal with an internal investigation of the error. The hospital will spend money on investigations.
There are measures that the medical institution and staff can take to reduce medication errors. Having the correct information about each patient is vital for patient safety. It helps in choosing the appropriate dose, frequency, and route for a patient’s medication (Tariq, Vashisht, Sinha, and Scherbak, 2021). Each patient should have two or more specific identifiers. Before prescribing any medications to a patient, it’s essential to know whether they are allergic to any medicine or drug. Highlight important issues about the patient, like whether they smoke or consume alcohol because it will affect the choice of medication. The current medicines each patient is receiving should be updated on their chart.
The packaging of drugs should be improved. Good packaging and drug information are essential in ensuring the safety of patients. Medication errors are commonly caused by improper packaging, labeling, and inadequate drug information. Drug references should be maintained, and guidelines on correct dosages, precautions, and other critical information should be established. High-alert drugs that need extra precautions during prescription dispensing and administration should be well-labeled (Anderson et al., 2010). The handwriting used to prescribe or label drugs should be clear to the patient and other healthcare staff. Any problematic or confusing abbreviations should be avoided in writing the patient’s notes or labeling their drugs. Drugs whose names look alike or have similar packaging should be kept away from each other.
Training patients on their safety is crucial. Most medication errors are due to patients’ lack of information on how to take the medications (MacDowell, 2021). To improve their level of understanding, their literacy level needs to be evaluated. It can be achieved by observing how they fill in the patient questionnaire or through an assessment. Perform medication training or counseling for the patient. The counseling should not be rushed. It should be both in written and oral form on how to use the prescribed medications. To demonstrate their complete understanding of the information, either the patient or the caregiver should repeat it to the health care professional. Prescribers have to insist on the patients’ importance of having the prescription filled and following the prescription to the letter. Medical staff should have frequent refresher training on patient safety, prescription of medicines, and personal safety. Regular training on frequent causes of medical errors in the healthcare sector will make the professionals always be on their toes or be prepared to handle different situations (Escrivá Gracia, Brage Serrano and Fernández Garrido, 2019).
There are many different opinions on ways to reduce medication errors. The pros of educating the patients are that it gives them a say in their care. It prepares the patients to care for themselves at home. It also nurtures confidence, satisfaction, and trust between the patient and the healthcare provider. A con for patient education is that it can bring anxiety to the patient. Anxiety and fear may creep in if the disease is at advanced stages, and maybe the administration is complicated for them.
If the solutions are implemented, the patient can exercise autonomy due to the education and knowledge they have gained through the training. They can make choices about their health from the point of knowledge. Training healthcare staff frequently will implement nonmaleficence and beneficence (Escrivá Gracia, Brage Serrano, and Fernández Garrido, 2019). The health care professionals will not make mistakes, either intentionally or unintentionally, to harm the patient. The doctors and nurses will only do well for their patients, improving their health. Justice will ensure that healthcare professionals offer equal and fair services to all patients with impartiality. To implement the solutions that I have proposed, there should be a willing team of healthcare professionals in the hospital willing to learn and serve patients without medical errors. Patients should also be ready to be taken care of and also take care of themselves.
In conclusion, medical errors are common in hospitals and are mainly due to negligence by healthcare professionals. Medicine errors affect the patients and their families, the healthcare worker who made a mistake, and the hospital where they are employed. They can be prevented by training healthcare workers and patients, good labeling and packaging of medications, and having the correct information on each patient. Implementation of ways to reduce medical errors ensures the performance of ethical principles in health care.
References
Anderson, B. P., Townsend, T., & CCRN-CMC, C. B. (2010). Medication errors. American nurse today, 44.
Escrivá Gracia, J., Brage Serrano, R., & Fernández Garrido, J. (2019). Medication errors and drug knowledge gaps among critical-care nurses: a mixed multi-method study. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4481-7
MacDowell, P. (2021). Medication Administration Errors. Psnet.ahrq.gov. Retrieved 8 October 2021, from https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/medication-administration-errors.
Tariq, R., Vashisht, R., Sinha, A., & Scherbak, Y. (2021). Medication Dispensing Errors And Prevention. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 8 October 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519065/.
Wolf, Z., & Hughes, R. Error Reporting and Disclosure. Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 8 October 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2652/.
World Health Organization. (2016). Medication errors.
ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE
We’ll write everything from scratch
Question 
1. Use scholarly information to explain a healthcare problem or issue.
• Assess the credibility of information
Medication Errors
sources.
。 Assess the relevance of the information
sources.
2. Analyze the problem or issue.
• Describe the setting or context for the problem or issue.
。 Describe the reasons that make the problem or issue important to you.
• Identify groups of people affected by the problem or issue.
3. Discuss potential solutions for the problem or
issue.
• Describe potential solutions.
• Compare and contrast your opinion with other opinions you find in sources from the Capella library.
• Provide the pros and cons for one of the solutions you are proposing.
4. Explain the ethical principles (Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, and Justice) if the potential solution was implemented.
。 Describe what would be necessary to implement the proposed solution.
• Provide examples from the literature to
support the point you are making.
Short Description: A medication error is a preventable adverse effect of a patient taking the wrong medication or dosage, whether or not it is evident or harmful to the patient. Medication errors can be a source of serious patient harm, including death.
Potential Intervention Approaches:
• Medical staff education
Packaging improvements
• Patient medication safety training
Organize your paper using the following structure and headings:
• Title page. ( separate page.)
• Introduction. ( one-paragraph statement. About the purpose of the paper.)
Identify the elements of the problem, issue, or question.
Analyze, define, and frame the problem, issue, or question.
• Consider solutions, responses, or answers.
• Choose a solution, response, or answer.
Implementation of the potential solution.
• Conclusion. (one paragraph.)