Errors In The Medical Field
Medical Errors
Medical errors are avoidable negative effects of care, which can be harmful to a patient. These errors can vary from giving the wrong treatment to a disease, injury, syndrome, behavior, or infection a patient might have. Nurses play one of the most important roles in the avoidance of occurring medical errors. By doing their job correctly they can prevent the errors from happening and potentially hurting or killing a patient. Decimal errors, trailing zero errors and abbreviation errors are a part of the huge list of medical errors that could be prevented by clear communication and double checking ones work. A medical error is preventable and by following directions and verifying all information before administration. By following …show more content…
It is principally when an expression of a number less than one (1) does not have a zero (0) before the decimal to make the visibility of the decimal clear. Numbers with decimal points are a big foundation of errors in the medical field. “A decimal point always should be preceded by a whole number and never should be left "naked." Decimal expressions of numbers less than 1 always should be preceded by a zero (0) to enhance the visibility of the decimal (Kelly, K., & Vaida, A. 2004).” It is very easy to overlook a decimal on a prescription because there could be an error with the ink in the machines or pens that can make them blend in or seem invisible. Proper decimal point placement and prominence is tremendously important and cannot be enforced enough in medical facilities. By using these properly it will help keep patients safe and the number of errors …show more content…
If an error occurs in any of those steps it can be fatal to the patient. “According to the landmark 2006 report “Preventing Medication Errors” from the institute of Medicine, medication errors injure 1.5 million Americans each year and cost $3.5 billion in lost productivity, wages and additional medical expenses (Anderson, P., & Townsend, T. ,2010).” Medical professionals need to do their work with more precision, which will result in the reduction of errors. The lesser amount of errors made the lower the number of injured patients there will be and lastly the outcome to that will be less money spent on correcting errors. It is all about being careful with your work and verifying everything, even if you feel like you know it is
Medical errors are avoidable negative effects of care, which can be harmful to a patient. These errors can vary from giving the wrong treatment to a disease, injury, syndrome, behavior, or infection a patient might have. Nurses play one of the most important roles in the avoidance of occurring medical errors. By doing their job correctly they can prevent the errors from happening and potentially hurting or killing a patient. Decimal errors, trailing zero errors and abbreviation errors are a part of the huge list of medical errors that could be prevented by clear communication and double checking ones work. A medical error is preventable and by following directions and verifying all information before administration. By following …show more content…
It is principally when an expression of a number less than one (1) does not have a zero (0) before the decimal to make the visibility of the decimal clear. Numbers with decimal points are a big foundation of errors in the medical field. “A decimal point always should be preceded by a whole number and never should be left "naked." Decimal expressions of numbers less than 1 always should be preceded by a zero (0) to enhance the visibility of the decimal (Kelly, K., & Vaida, A. 2004).” It is very easy to overlook a decimal on a prescription because there could be an error with the ink in the machines or pens that can make them blend in or seem invisible. Proper decimal point placement and prominence is tremendously important and cannot be enforced enough in medical facilities. By using these properly it will help keep patients safe and the number of errors …show more content…
If an error occurs in any of those steps it can be fatal to the patient. “According to the landmark 2006 report “Preventing Medication Errors” from the institute of Medicine, medication errors injure 1.5 million Americans each year and cost $3.5 billion in lost productivity, wages and additional medical expenses (Anderson, P., & Townsend, T. ,2010).” Medical professionals need to do their work with more precision, which will result in the reduction of errors. The lesser amount of errors made the lower the number of injured patients there will be and lastly the outcome to that will be less money spent on correcting errors. It is all about being careful with your work and verifying everything, even if you feel like you know it is