Abstract
This paper will examine the SWOT analysis of the wrong medication administration in the hospital setting. Part of that is a project which aims to improve nursing care. Analysis studies inside and outside factors to determine the challenges around medication dispensing. Based on the organization’s strengths, its weaker sides, the opportunities it has to improve, and the risks it faces, the plan is made to make the medication safer and enhance the quality of care. Analysis eliminates errors in administering medicine and protects the well-being of patients in healthcare institutions.
Introduction
One way to make the care of patients in hospitals worse is by giving them medication with errors. Such mistakes can be fatal. To solve this problem, we need to consider both the positive and negative features of drug distribution. After that, we can think of a way to improve it. This article focuses on the medicinal component, pivotal factors, potential developments, and relevant pitfalls involved in medication errors while administering to patients. The permanent secretary also establishes how the quality of care can be improved.
Strengths
The healthcare facility has rules for giving medicine, which are the same for all the departments. This guarantees that things are equivalent, and it becomes less probable to arrive at mistakes by doing things differently. Also, the nurses are very skillful in dispensing medications. Continuous learning and training ensure they continually upgrade their skills and follow the latest trends in their area. Besides, such centers employ the latest equipment, such as barcode scanners, to dispense drugs. Such tools allow information to be more accurate through automatic collection and verification of data, thus decreasing the chance of human error. This demonstrates the commitment to technology utilization for ensuring patients are safe and a high quality of care (Tariq & Scherbak, 2023). Collectively, these skills ensure that the administration of medicine to the patients in the healthcare facility is appropriate, and it results in patients getting cured.
Weaknesses
Nurses will surely have a hard time because they have a lot on their plate. It can make them feel exhausted and under pressure. For them, it might be hard to concentrate and do things right, thus making errors when dispensing medications more common. What is worse is that when healthcare professionals communicate poorly, especially during shift changes, this is a huge problem. Misunderstanding and not communicating clearly when transferring patients from one shift to another lead to medication errors, important details may not be heard, or a misinterpretation is put into place.
Furthermore, the hospital does not provide efficient options for patients to reveal and rectify errors while they are administering medicine (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). The absence of good approaches to feedback makes one incapable of learning from mistakes and making things good. However, the healthcare team with limited ways to get feedback will find it challenging to find issues that keep recurring and how they can prevent a reoccurrence of such issues. Solving these issues is crucial in assuring that medication is safe and patients receive quality care in the hospital.
Opportunities
The other one is applying EHRs. Linking patients’ electronic health records with the way they get their medicine, hospitals simplify paperwork, get more accurate, and have instant access to patient information. This link allows doctors to see all the medicine a patient has taken, all allergies they have, and other important things. This decreases the risk of incorrect data, either incomplete or inaccurate. The other smart method for making a drug safe is by joining forces together with different kinds of specialists (Rodziewicz et al., 2023). Nurses, pharmacists, and the rest of the healthcare professionals can tap into their knowledge and varying viewpoints in working out effective strategies for managing medications. When doctors and patients communicate and make decisions together, it enables them to exchange vital information and make better health choices. It can cause better outcomes for the patient.
Additionally, educating patients about their health is a tool that empowers them to control their therapy and avoid medication errors. Educating patients on their medications, the right way to take them, probable side effects, and why it is essential to take them as prescribed will help them appreciate and follow treatment courses better (Kiani et al., 2020). The most participative and knowledgeable patients can actually take a more active role in their treatment, discuss their medication problems, and work well with their doctors to ensure that their medications are safe and efficient.
Threats
When there is not enough staff at healthcare centers, this may endanger the lives of the patients who will fail to get the correct medicine and care. Should there be a lack of workforce or in case many people quit their jobs, the ones staying may have to do more work and feel tense (Rasool et al., 2020). The administration of drugs could be adversely affected by this. The lack of resources and staff causes people to exhaustion, which increases the likelihood of mistakes that can injure patients.
Forgetting the rules of medical safety is a big one. If the rules and regulations are not followed, the healthcare organizations will get into trouble with the law and have to pay big money. Not only do the patients get hurt by rule-breaking behavior, but the organization also ends up looking bad (Rasool et al., 2020). Henceforth, hospitals and healthcare establishments need to adhere to rules, establish best practices, and ensure medication safety.
Action Plan
Based on the SWOT analysis, we recommend some key things to improve the giving of medications and keep patients safe at the hospital. Then, we shall make a training curriculum for nurses. It will cover medication safety, ways to avoid errors, and how to communicate appropriately. This training will ensure that staff know how to locate and prevent medication errors (Kiani et al., 2020). In addition, we pledge to recognize the periodic update of medication lists to reduce the risks that arise when transferring patients between various healthcare settings. This implies the comparison of the patient’s drugs with those prescribed by a doctor due to the fact that they detect and eliminate the differences. It also reduces the likelihood of error.
To sum up, SWOT analysis shows that it is hard to give medicine and brainstorm on ways to improve the quality. Healthcare organizations achieve safer drugs and better patients through their strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities as well as threats. Implementing the action plan would require teamwork, constant monitoring, and always looking for improvements in the healthcare setting.
References
Kiani, F., Salar, A., & Rezaee, N. (2020). Preventing the medication errors in hospitals: A qualitative study. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 13(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2020.100235
Rasool, M. F., Rehman, A., Imran, I., Abbas, S., Shah, S., Abbas, G., Khan, I., Shakeel, S., Ahmad Hassali, M. A., & Hayat, K. (2020). Risk Factors Associated with Medication Errors Among Patients Suffering from Chronic Disorders. Frontiers in Public Health, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.531038
Rodziewicz, T. L., Hipskind, J. E., & Houseman, B. (2023). Medical error reduction and prevention. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/
Tariq, R. A., & Scherbak, Y. (2023). Medication Dispensing Errors and Prevention. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519065/
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