Describe a patient care problem with an impact on the budget as a financial management issue in your workplace.
Medication errors are one of the serious patient care problems in nursing that impact the patient’s health and affect financial management in healthcare organizations. It involves dispensing the wrong medication, wrong dosage strength, or form. It also involves wrong dosage or failure to consider drug interactions or contraindications for a particular patient (Dirik et al., 2019). Medication errors in nursing also involve administering a medication to the wrong patient; this can result in serious health and financial issues to the patient receiving the drugs, the patient who was supposed to receive the drug, and the healthcare organization. Administering medication at the wrong time, mixing up medication, or generally not observing the prescription requirement of the drug is considered a medication error in nursing.
Medication errors have a great impact on healthcare budgets. It affects the cost of healthcare maintenance due to long recovery time or complications that may arise due to medication errors. It can significantly impact a healthcare organization’s budget as a financial management issue (Dirik et al., 2019). Medication errors in nursing may lead to financial losses in hospitals or other healthcare organizations. Financial losses associated with medical errors are caused by the increased cost of care, litigation, and increased insurance premiums. When patients are exposed to medication errors, they may have mild health issues that can resolve easily after the medication errors are corrected. Sometimes, medication errors can cause serious fatal effects on the patient’s health, increasing the cost required to care for such patients. On some occasions, medication errors as a patient care problem have resulted in death, which has negative financial implications for healthcare organizations, nurses, and patient’s family members. Medication errors in nursing can therefore affect various budgets in healthcare because the extra capital is spent on patients affected by medication errors as patient care problems. The healthcare organization, therefore, experiences difficulties in managing the finances and incomes of the healthcare organization due to medication errors that occur from tie to time. One medication error that negatively impacts financial management is overdosing; this medication error leads to a shortage of medication in healthcare pharmacies and drug stores as more than the budget drugs are spent on a patient (Dirik et al., 2019). This increases the cost of treatment and stretches the health organization’s funds as more drugs outside of the budgeted drug are purchased to cover for the deficiency of medication left due to overdosing. The nurses’ leaders and other stakeholders have a great role to play in reducing medication errors in healthcare as it has major financial impacts on healthcare organizational financial management. It is also difficult to account for financial losses caused by small medication errors that are not documented or are not realized. However small or serious, medication errors are reflected in health organizations’ financial records.
Provide a short analysis of the nurse leader’s role in relation to this problem as described in the literature.
A nurse leader is important in reducing and preventing medication errors in healthcare. The nurse leader creates an environment that fosters safety and accountability in medication and patient care. This includes creating a safety culture, ensuring that nurses are properly trained and that all patient safety protocols are followed during patient care. The nurses’ leaders ensure the nurses have mastered the skills of medication delivery with consideration of medication errors and their implications for health (Dirik et al., 2019). They also provide ongoing education and training on medication safety to ensure the nurses reduce medication errors and improve patients’ health and quality of life. Nurse leaders also have a role to proactively get involved in identifying potential errors and developing systems to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of medication delivery.
The nurse leader should also ensure adequate communication between all healthcare team members and that any errors are reported and addressed in a timely manner (Dyab et al., 2018). The nurse leaders also have a role in ensuring that all nurses and staff are held accountable for their actions concerning medication. This helps to ensure that medication errors are identified and corrected before they become a major problem that can pose negative financial implications to healthcare, patients ad family members. Nurse leaders have primary roles, including ensuring that the nurses under their supervision effectively deliver quality patient care (Dyab et al., 2018). Nurse leaders must be knowledgeable about the latest evidence-based practices and be aware of potential risks and hazards associated with medication and general care delivery.
Nurse leaders should ensure that their nurses are well-informed, have access to the necessary resources and tools, and are encouraged to practice evidence-based care when caring for patients. Nurse leaders should also ensure that nurses are adequately trained and have the skills to recognize and respond to potential medical errors to avoid adverse financial and health effects associated with medication errors (Dyab et al., 2018). Nurse leaders must provide education and training opportunities to their nurses, such as simulation training. This ensures that their nurses are well-equipped to handle medical situations and to reduce or avoid medication errors.
Nurse leaders also have a role in promoting a culture of safety and quality within the organization. This can be achieved by implementing policies encouraging open communication and collaboration between stakeholders and fostering nurses’ accountability. Nurses should hold regular meetings and staff development activities that promote problem-solving and teamwork (Dyab et al., 2018). Nurse leaders have a role in ensuring that medical errors are promptly reported and addressed. This includes developing systems for reporting medical errors, conducting root cause analysis to identify the underlying causes, and implementing corrective actions to prevent similar errors.
Explain the regulatory agencies and policies that are involved in the issue.
There are various regulatory agencies involved in preventing and reducing medication errors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is among the main regulatory agencies in medication administration and reducing medical errors. It is responsible for ensuring that medications are safe and effective for their intended use. The FDA reviews reported medication errors and take appropriate action to prevent future errors (Darrow et al., 2020). It also monitors and evaluates medications for safety and efficacy and evaluates the labeling and packaging of medications to ensure that the information provided is clear and understandable. The FDA also works with nurses, healthcare providers, pharmacists, and other health stakeholders to increase awareness of medication errors and the steps that can be taken to reduce them. It provides educational materials and resources to healthcare providers and consumers to help them understand the risks of medication errors and how to reduce them (Darrow et al., 2020). FDA has also developed tools and strategies to encourage reporting of medication errors and to track and analyze trends in medication errors.
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is another agency that helps reduce medication errors in nursing and patient care; it is a nonprofit organization that provides education and resources related to medication safety. ISMP publishes guidelines and recommendations to help reduce the risk of medication errors. It also offers evidence-based practices, such as safe medication administration and storage, to help reduce the risk of medication errors. The agency also provides resources to help healthcare professionals stay up-to-date on the latest medication safety guidelines (Darrow et al., 2020). ISMP also offers resources to patients and consumers so they can be informed and empowered to help protect themselves from medication errors. Another agency that helps reduce medication errors is the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP).
This is a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to reduce medication errors. It develops and encourages the use of standardized terms and definitions to accurately report medication errors (Darrow et al., 2020). The State Board of Pharmacy is another agency that aids in regulating pharmacy practice, including dispensing medications. State boards of pharmacy also review medication errors and take appropriate disciplinary action. The State and Federal laws, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) laws, regulate the prescribing and dispensing controlled substances. These laws help reduce the risk of medication errors, improving patient care and patient outcomes in health organizations. They give directions on prescription practices and the legal implication of deliberate medication errors or other unethical practices related to medications.
Identify which organizational budgets would be impacted by this issue.
Medication errors can affect various organizational budgets; the most affected ones include the operating, capital, and labor budgets. The operating budget would be affected by increased costs related to litigation, settlements, and medical malpractice insurance premiums. The labor budget would be affected by increased costs for additional staff training and supervision to reduce medical errors in healthcare organizations (Ann et al., 2021). The capital budget would be affected by increased costs for new technology and equipment to reduce medical errors. Medication errors can be reduced by installing medication technologies, among other strategies. The financial resources used to buy and install such technologies create a financial burden to the healthcare organization, causing medical errors, a patient care problem that must be addressed (Ann et al., 2021). Hospital operating budgets can be impacted by increased medical errors, as the costs associated with medical errors, such as legal fees, additional resources, and patient care, would need to be covered by the hospital. Hospital capital budgets may be impacted if additional resources need to be purchased or procedures need to be modified to prevent or reduce medical errors.
Explain how the organizational budgets would be impacted.
The hospital budget would be impacted in several ways due to increased medical errors. Increased medical errors can lead to additional costs for medical care, such as additional tests or treatments, as well as additional costs for legal costs and other costs associated with medical malpractice and medical errors (Ann et al., 2021). In addition, increased medical errors can decrease patient satisfaction and loyalty, leading to a decrease in revenue due to fewer patients. Finally, increased medical errors can increase insurance costs, as insurers may increase premiums to cover the risk of medical malpractice. The organization may also be spending more on caring for patients who develop complications due to medication errors or those patients who experience long hospital stays due to medication errors (Ann et al., 2021). The organization can also spend more to acquire medication thatused wrongly through overdose or other misuses that result in medication errors.
References
Ann, E, R., Camacho, E., Jankovic, D & Faria, R. (2021). Economic analysis of the prevalence and clinical and economic burden of medication error in England. BMJ Quality & Safety 30(2), 96-105.https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/30/2/96
Darrow, J, J., Avorn, J & Kesselhem, S, A. (2020). FDA approval and regulation of pharmaceuticals, 1983-2018. Jama 323(2), 164-176. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.20288
Dyab, A, E., Elkalmi, M, R., Halimah, B, S & Jamshed, Q, S. (2018). Exploration of nurse’s
Knowledge attitudes, and perceived barriers towards medication errors reporting in a tertiary healthcare facility; A qualitative approach. Pharmacy 6(4), 120. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy6040120
Dirik, F, H., Samur, M., Seyda, S, I & Hewison, A. (2019). Nurse’s Identification and reporting of medication errors. Journal of Clinical Nursing 28(5-6), 931-938. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14716
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