Incorrect medication use is an example of a medication error, which refers to the series of events that that phrase can define. Even though many of these occurrences can be avoided and might not display any negative symptoms, they can occasionally result in an undesirable consequence that puts the user in danger. This may originate with the patient, the medical professional, or even a simple consumer unaware of the implications. Despite the improvements in modern Knowledge and the application of technology in the medical processes, the continued tracking of medication errors in several of our healthcare centres sparked my interest in this topic. I have witnessed several medication errors throughout my professional life, including one that resulted in a patient’s death due to erroneous prescriptions from multiple professionals working in a critical care ward.
Peer-reviewed journals
The occurrence and type of medical errors associated with injury is the title of one of the journals that have been subjected to peer review for this subject. NCBI is the database that is utilized for the same thing. I looked for this material by using the Capella Library and other resources. I accessed papers stored in databases like PubMed using a search engine called Summon, which searches across all of the Capella University Library’s databases. When searching for peer-reviewed literature pertinent to medical errors, I utilized a variety of keywords, including medication errors, medication administration, medical education staff and medication safety. My search was narrowed down to scholarly journals that other experts had reviewed by selecting “journal article” as the type of publication, medicine as the subject area, and articles within the last five years as the publication range. I did this by using the option to conduct an advanced search.
Relevance of information
I chose articles from peer-reviewed journals published during the previous five years because I wanted to ensure their reliability. I made certain that the selected sources were written by writers who were well in medicine and had a significant amount of experience working on the subject professionally. To ensure that the information sources I picked were pertinent to the subject, I ensured that they featured well-established facts and perspectives on topics associated with medical errors. I also examined each information source to determine whether or not it had a purpose that was crystal clear and whether or not it offered material that was important to the topic of medical errors that occur in healthcare institutions.
Annotated bibliography
Armstrong, G. E., Dietrich, M., Norman, L., Barnsteiner, J., & Mion, L. (2017). Nurses’ perceived skills and attitudes about updated safety concepts: Impact on medication administration errors and practices. Journal of nursing care quality, 32(3), 226. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097%2FNCQ.0000000000000226
This study evaluates bedside nurses’ assessed abilities and attitudes about updated safety principles and their influence on medication administration errors (MAEs) and compliance with safe drug administration methods. As a result, the research investigates MAEs in addition to the human aspects that either contributes to the mistakes or serve as a safeguard against them. According to the findings, MAEs result from a complex interaction between elements at the unit, system, and nurse levels. Armstrong et al. (2017), determined a connection between reporting errors and the capability to analyze one’s own mistake, have a conversation about it and report faults at the microsystem level. They discovered that the perceived abilities needed to execute new safety standards were closely associated with medicine administration accuracy. Therefore, they concluded a need for a more extensive assessment of nurses’ perceived skills and behaviors in safety procedures to discover ways to minimize adverse medical events and enhance adherence to existing norms. This study is relevant as it provides information on the medication errors that occur at the bedside due to the mistakes made by nurses.
Cohen, M. (2016). Medication errors (miscellaneous). Nursing, 46(2), 72. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000476239.09094.06
This article examines the most prevalent yet overlooked causes of drug errors and provides solutions to these problems. The authors introduced the manufacturer’s seal as a source in the discussion. Before dispensing, medical professionals are strongly encouraged to check that the seal still has its original integrity (Cohen, 2016). Stickers that are resistant to tampering are another option that manufacturers of pharmaceuticals have for assisting providers in differentiating between unused and used medications. The pharmacist’s label, which covers up the pill’s bar code and makes it impossible to read and verify its information during drug processing, is another factor contributing to medication errors. This omission makes it more likely to give the incorrect medication to the intended patient. Cohen (2016) further established that providers could be confused by medications that look similar, leading to errors in medication administration. As a result, facilities that provide medical treatment should separate these goods and look for a different producer for at least one of them. In addition, pharmaceutical corporations contribute to the problem by producing pill labels that are difficult to understand. It is the responsibility of the FDA to guarantee that pharmaceuticals that are distributed to healthcare facilities have the appropriate labels.
Few researchers have concentrated their attention on these seemingly insignificant facets of drug mistakes. As a result, this article is relevant as it aims to demonstrate that there are multiple causes of drug errors. Although the dispensing provider is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the right drug, right dosage, right frequency, right channel, and right patient are used, allied health professionals and other professionals working in healthcare also play important roles in preventing medication errors.
Dhawan, I., Tewari, A., Sehgal, S., & Sinha, A. C. (2017). Erros de medicação em anestesia: inaceitável ou inevitável?. Revista Brasileira de Anestesiologia, 67, 184-192.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjane.2015.09.006
This review by Dhawan et al.(2017) was conducted to examine medication safety when administering drugs to patients undergoing anaesthesia. Medication errors, their occurrence and history, and practices that rebut their occurrence in the selected population are some topics that will be covered in this course. According to the findings, the incidence rate of anaesthesia medication errors ranges anywhere from 0.33 percent to 0.73 percent over fifteen years. The history of medication errors shows that the most common type of error was the administration of the incorrect medication (48 percent), followed by an overdose (38 percent), and then the wrong route of administration (8 percent ). Switching syringes was responsible for 42% of the administration route errors while switching medication ampoules was responsible for 33%, and selecting the incorrect drug was responsible for 5% of the errors (17 percent ). Misunderstandings regarding dosage or incorrect expectations were the cause of 53% of all drug overdoses.
The integration of electronic methods was identified as the most recommended game changer among the various operations to rebuff medication errors at the unit, system, and individual levels. For instance, every location that provides anaesthesia should be equipped with a barcode reader, which can be used to identify medications before they are prepared or given, and an automated information system, which can offer feedback and support about medication (Dhawan et al., 2017). The study’s conclusion suggests that high-time digital concepts were implemented in anaesthesia patients to reduce the number of medication errors.
The study is essential due to the one-of-a-kind anaesthetized patient population. These patients are the most at risk because they might be unable to report or react to medication errors until it is too late. This makes them the most vulnerable patients. As a result, it is essential to conduct this study to understand how such a population should be managed to ensure the proper administration of medication.
Schmidt, K., Taylor, A., & Pearson, A. (2017). Reduction of medication errors: a unique approach. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 32(2), 150-156. doi: 10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000217
This study was conducted to determine the essential actions that need to be taken to minimize medication errors without radically affecting the nursing practice. The intravenous (IV) and other fluid treatments were discussed in detail as part of this section. The sociotechnical probabilistic risk assessment (ST-PRA) tool was utilized to review the reports on medication errors from the previous five years. In addition to that, the researchers utilized a focus group to investigate the discrepancies between the stated organizational policies and the actual policies, as well as the vulnerabilities of the system and the medication procedures. 11 recommendations were provided as a result of the findings, with the top five being the most important. These include verifying steps in the electronic health record (EHR), performing double checks, utilizing improved wristbands and bar code scanning, decreasing the number of clamped lines, and standardizing medication administration to improve consistency and adherence. The findings led to the discovery of the three Cs: connections, clamps, and clamps for confirming connections. Schmidt et al. (2017) concluded that further investigation into the efficacy of 3Cs is required. However, the results of their preliminary study indicated that the 3Cs are a viable option for nurses to try to reduce the number of errors associated with the administration of IV and other fluid medications. Therefore, this article is relevant as it instils knowledge regarding why and how IV medication errors occur and the role that human error plays in the same.
Summary
In recent years, nurses have taken the brunt of the responsibility for prescription mishaps. They are logically assumed to be responsible for most pharmaceutical errors at the bedside since they’re the primary care providers. There are many reasons for pharmaceutical errors, but one of the most significant findings is that they are complicated and multidimensional. Human errors, system factors such as active reporting channels, and individual personalities. When it comes to medicines and pharmacy, there is a role for allied professionals to play. The FDA, the manufacturer, and even pharmacists and administering nurses can make medication mistakes, as I learned from Cohen (2016). As a result, all aspects of medication prevention must be addressed.
Furthermore, it has been found that nurses’ personalities play an important role in preventing and facilitating drug errors. It has been found that nurses who believe they can apply safety procedures are more likely to do so than those who do not believe they can do so. According to this, the importance of patient confidence cannot be overestimated. As a result, I will make an effort to practice with confidence. Additionally, the wheel on mistake reporting in the review article has helped me visualize and understand pharmaceutical issues (Dhawan, Tewari, Sehgal, & Sinha, 2017). Medication errors are a serious issue in healthcare, and not knowing what they are and how to report them is a vital part of addressing them (Armstrong et al., 2017; Dhawan et al., 2017; Schmidt, Taylor, & Pearson, 2017).
References
Armstrong, G. E., Dietrich, M., Norman, L., Barnsteiner, J., & Mion, L. (2017). Nurses’ perceived skills and attitudes about updated safety concepts: Impact on medication administration errors and practices. Journal of nursing care quality, 32(3), 226. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097%2FNCQ.0000000000000226
Cohen, M. (2016). Medication errors (miscellaneous). Nursing, 46(2), 72. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000476239.09094.06
Dhawan, I., Tewari, A., Sehgal, S., & Sinha, A. C. (2017). Erros de medicação em anestesia: inaceitável ou inevitável?. Revista Brasileira de Anestesiologia, 67, 184-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjane.2015.09.006
Schmidt, K., Taylor, A., & Pearson, A. (2017). Reduction of medication errors: a unique approach. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 32(2), 150-156. doi: 10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000217
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