Introduction
The paper will provide a systematic analysis of a health economic issue (medication errors), which will be conducted in a local healthcare facility in my community. As an engaged medical practitioner, the issue of medication errors has influenced my nursing profession, that of my colleagues and the entire organization. This necessitates the need for a change or resolution to enhance safe medication practices to promote overall well-being for all. In addition, the assignment will involve a comprehensive evaluation of this issue in an attempt to address it where a summary of the issue, socioeconomic disparities related to medication errors, evidence-based findings that support the need to address the issue as well as the benefits of solving this problem will be provided.
Summary of the health economic issue chosen (medication errors)
Medication errors are the failures experienced during drug therapy that result in harmful effects on patients. The issue has had an adverse impact on the nursing profession, the healthcare facility, and the community. For instance, nursing professionals who have been involved in medication errors suffer the loss of trust from patients, stress, lack of confidence and punitive actions, especially when the errors lead to substantial harm to the patient. In addition, the errors affect the healthcare institution, where extra costs are incurred due to unplanned hospitalization, and extra treatments are needed to correct these errors. The community, which consists of families, suffer stress as a result of the loss of their loved ones through death. Also, low-income families are affected by extra expenses that are associated with prolonged hospital stays as a result of the consequences of medication errors. From this assertion, there is a need for policies that should be implemented to reduce medication errors and promote healthy lifestyles among the population.
Evidence-based findings in support of the need to address medication errors
In a study by Wondmieneh et al. 2020, unsafe medical practices are the major causes of avoidable patient harm in healthcare settings, where a more significant proportion of errors occur during administration. The findings of this study suggest factors such as lack of adequate training among medical professionals, lack of sufficient guidance when administering drugs, insufficient work experience, and night duty shifts among nurses. The research affirms that there is a need to address medication errors to promote patient safety, where strategies such as implementing drug administration guidelines are to be applied by nurses. It is also suggested that more experienced nurses should be retained where they will play a significant role in improving quality and safe medical practices, hence reducing medication errors.
According to Elliot et al. (2020), medication errors in home-based care settings and secondary and primary care sectors are associated with burdens where death and high usage of healthcare resources are experienced. The study affirms that most medication errors result from the use of ubiquitous medicines. In addition, the errors result from poor record keeping of patients’ data and lack of medical records for patients.
According to Mulac et al. (2020), medication errors were found to have adverse effects on patients, where findings show that 62% of all errors were harmful, 5.2% of them were severe, and 0.8% of the errors were fatal. Most errors were made during administration and prescribing. The significant causes found were dosing omission as well as inappropriate medication. Finally, the research suggests the urgent need for strategies to prevent medication errors. The study also advocates for further studies on investigations on medication errors to explore the dynamics of severe cases related to these errors.
Outcomes and opportunities for solving the issue of medication errors
Prevention of medication errors will promote patient safety, where nurses will implement and follow secure nursing practices. Also, strong nurse-patient relationships will be built where patients will have trust in their nurses and feel comfortable when error-free drug administration is done. A good reputation will be made as a result of improved patient outcomes when error-free nursing nursing is provided. Further, error-related healthcare expenses will be reduced, and morbidity and prolonged stays in the hospital will be diminished, benefiting the organization and the patients. Finally, a better working environment will be created where nurses will cooperate to eliminate medication errors, hence relieving stress, self-doubt and lack of confidence among nurses, which occurs when medication errors cause substantial harm to patients.
Conclusion
In conclusion, medication errors are prevalent in healthcare settings where they need to be addressed to promote patient safety and healthy lifestyles. There are various adverse impacts on the nursing profession, the community and healthcare organizations. Solving the issue has several benefits as well. Therefore, multiple strategies need to be implemented to reduce medication errors, hence promoting positive patient outcomes among the population.
References
Elliott, R. A., Camacho, E., Jankovic, D., Sculpher, M. J., & Faria, R. (2020). Economic analysis of the prevalence and clinical and economic burden of medication error in England. BMJ Quality & Safety. https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2020/05/11/bmjqs-2019-010206?versioned=true
Mulac, A., Taxis, K., Hagesaether, E., & Granas, A. G. (2020). Severe and fatal medication errors in hospitals: findings from the Norwegian Incident Reporting System. European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy. https://ejhp.bmj.com/content/early/2020/06/23/ejhpharm-2020-002298?versioned=true
Wondmieneh, A., Alemu, W., Tadele, N., & Demis, A. (2020). Medication administration errors and contributing factors among nurses: a cross-sectional study in tertiary hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BMC Nursing, 19(1), 1-9. https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-020-0397-0
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