Less Medication Errors In Health Care
Yvonne Mata
The way organizations in health care handle quality improvement is always different. Many organizations have their own procedure and at times it can be the same, but many organizations will change the process just to be the best. As days pass, hospital experience growth and with growth come many problems. For example medication errors which are the number one concern in health care. Being able to give out the correct medication and dose at times can be very confusing for many reasons. What is a worker supposed to do? As you read, you will learn on a plan proposed to make less medication errors and to improve health care quality.
Medication errors are a very big problem that can happen to any health care organization. Being able to prevent it is something that employees should be well trained in. As CEO of the organization I am proposing the following to be done:
The staff will get an extra training on how to read prescriptions. If the prescription is on paper Rx, the employee will have to double check with the doctor, RN or who prescribed the medication to make sure what the medication is and the exact dose that will be given to the patient. Being able to read medication prescriptions is a very important step for employees to learn. Having trouble reading prescriptions is the main reason on why wrong medication is given and taken by patients. Training on how to read medication prescriptions will be given to …show more content…
every employee before being hired. For those who are already employed the same rules will comply. Taking employees who have already been with the health care organization to training in groups of four at a time is what will happen for them to learn on reading the prescriptions. After the training has been complied with, a test of several medication prescriptions will be given to each employee who will be hired and that has already been hired. The people will have to write down what the prescription is and will have to say it out loud to the person who is in charge giving the test. If the person making the application for employment with our organization fails then they cannot be hired at that time and a second chance will be given to the person in the timing of one month form when they took the first one. If they pass and have complied with all the rules then the person will be one of our new employees, if they still were not able to pass the medication prescription test then I’m sorry to say, but will not be part of our team. For employees that are already hired the same thing will go. If they fail the first time then they will be put on administrative leave for 2 weeks to come back and retake the test. If the employee still won’t pass then they will have to be let go from our organization. Also make sure employees that will be hired and employees whom are already with our organization to be able to revise prescriptions that are done by computer. Employees who are at the front desk that will release patients will have to double check if the medication prescriptions they are going to print from the computer are correct. Referring to the table/chart of how much medication a patient should take by their age and weight. This table/chart should always be at the front desk or with the employee who will release patient. The employee must be given a lesson by the head nurse or possibly doctor of how to read the table/chart. This also will be very convenient for the organization because it will help stop putting calls on long hold for the busy nurses on any questions patients have about the dosage of the medication they were prescribed.
Proposition to reduce medication error will be something that has to do with the newer more advanced technology. To add a plan to imbrute the delivery process for medications is a proposition that will take a little more timing, but in the end the best thing to do to reduce medication prescription errors. There will have to be an addition The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act better known as HIPPA. HIPPA protects any information your doctors, nurses, and other health care providers put in your medical record. Adding safeguards against both prescribing and delivery mistakes are a great option to do. To do so there will be installation of imbrute medication storage and dispensing cabinets in all inpatient units. The hospital will also institute an electronic medical record system that includes bar coding to verify the patient receives the correct medicine. The system will warn of potential danger, such as hazardous interaction with other medications that were given to the patient then or in the past. The doctor or RN will input their order-entry in computers that allow them to key in the prescription medications faster instead of writing them down and causing problems for employees or pharmacists when not being able to correctly read the Rx. The person at the front desk or who will release patients will scan bar code in the medicine prescriptions and the patient’s wrist ban to ensure they match. If there is no match to the medication and the patient then the employee is alerted not to give the medication. By doing this there will be assurance for the organization that the medication the employee is releasing to the patient is correctly given to the right patient. To get all this going employees/staff should be properly trained with the new addition to the organization. Brining in people that will give the best training to the staff/employees is what will happen for them to properly learn about the new system. Little by little the employees/staff will pick up on the new program and slowly but surely less medications errors are prone to happen. "It 's a promising way to automate aspects of medication administration," says Robert Krawisz, former executive director of the National Patient Safety Foundation. "The technology 's impact at VA hospitals so far has been amazing." The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) already uses bar codes nationwide in its hospitals, and the result has been a drastic reduction in medication errors. For example, the VA medical center in Topeka, Kan., has reported that bar coding reduced its medication error rate by 86 percent over a nine-year period. (US Food and Drug Administration 2013)
In conclusion, as you can see medication errors can cause many problems to health care organizations.
Propositioning ideas that will help the health care organizations make less error medication is simply the beginning to insuring patient quality care. Quality improvement all starts within the health care organization and its means to provide better and safer ways to help patients take the right medication. Making the effort and most important time to fit in this training and very good program will be the best for the organization to
succeed.
References
“Drugs” Strategies to Reduce Medication Errors: Working to Improve Medication Safety. N.p., 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Aug. 2013. <http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm143553.htm>.
"Information Statement." Prevention of Medication Errors. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2013. <http://www.aaos.org/about/papers/advistmt/1026.asp>.
"Robert Wood Johnson Foundation." RWJF. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2013. <http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2008/09/improving-quality-how-a-hospital-reduced-medication-errors.html>.
(2010). Medical quality management, theory and practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/jones-and-bartlett/2010/medical-quality-management_theory-and-practice_ebook_2e.php
The way organizations in health care handle quality improvement is always different. Many organizations have their own procedure and at times it can be the same, but many organizations will change the process just to be the best. As days pass, hospital experience growth and with growth come many problems. For example medication errors which are the number one concern in health care. Being able to give out the correct medication and dose at times can be very confusing for many reasons. What is a worker supposed to do? As you read, you will learn on a plan proposed to make less medication errors and to improve health care quality.
Medication errors are a very big problem that can happen to any health care organization. Being able to prevent it is something that employees should be well trained in. As CEO of the organization I am proposing the following to be done:
The staff will get an extra training on how to read prescriptions. If the prescription is on paper Rx, the employee will have to double check with the doctor, RN or who prescribed the medication to make sure what the medication is and the exact dose that will be given to the patient. Being able to read medication prescriptions is a very important step for employees to learn. Having trouble reading prescriptions is the main reason on why wrong medication is given and taken by patients. Training on how to read medication prescriptions will be given to …show more content…
every employee before being hired. For those who are already employed the same rules will comply. Taking employees who have already been with the health care organization to training in groups of four at a time is what will happen for them to learn on reading the prescriptions. After the training has been complied with, a test of several medication prescriptions will be given to each employee who will be hired and that has already been hired. The people will have to write down what the prescription is and will have to say it out loud to the person who is in charge giving the test. If the person making the application for employment with our organization fails then they cannot be hired at that time and a second chance will be given to the person in the timing of one month form when they took the first one. If they pass and have complied with all the rules then the person will be one of our new employees, if they still were not able to pass the medication prescription test then I’m sorry to say, but will not be part of our team. For employees that are already hired the same thing will go. If they fail the first time then they will be put on administrative leave for 2 weeks to come back and retake the test. If the employee still won’t pass then they will have to be let go from our organization. Also make sure employees that will be hired and employees whom are already with our organization to be able to revise prescriptions that are done by computer. Employees who are at the front desk that will release patients will have to double check if the medication prescriptions they are going to print from the computer are correct. Referring to the table/chart of how much medication a patient should take by their age and weight. This table/chart should always be at the front desk or with the employee who will release patient. The employee must be given a lesson by the head nurse or possibly doctor of how to read the table/chart. This also will be very convenient for the organization because it will help stop putting calls on long hold for the busy nurses on any questions patients have about the dosage of the medication they were prescribed.
Proposition to reduce medication error will be something that has to do with the newer more advanced technology. To add a plan to imbrute the delivery process for medications is a proposition that will take a little more timing, but in the end the best thing to do to reduce medication prescription errors. There will have to be an addition The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act better known as HIPPA. HIPPA protects any information your doctors, nurses, and other health care providers put in your medical record. Adding safeguards against both prescribing and delivery mistakes are a great option to do. To do so there will be installation of imbrute medication storage and dispensing cabinets in all inpatient units. The hospital will also institute an electronic medical record system that includes bar coding to verify the patient receives the correct medicine. The system will warn of potential danger, such as hazardous interaction with other medications that were given to the patient then or in the past. The doctor or RN will input their order-entry in computers that allow them to key in the prescription medications faster instead of writing them down and causing problems for employees or pharmacists when not being able to correctly read the Rx. The person at the front desk or who will release patients will scan bar code in the medicine prescriptions and the patient’s wrist ban to ensure they match. If there is no match to the medication and the patient then the employee is alerted not to give the medication. By doing this there will be assurance for the organization that the medication the employee is releasing to the patient is correctly given to the right patient. To get all this going employees/staff should be properly trained with the new addition to the organization. Brining in people that will give the best training to the staff/employees is what will happen for them to properly learn about the new system. Little by little the employees/staff will pick up on the new program and slowly but surely less medications errors are prone to happen. "It 's a promising way to automate aspects of medication administration," says Robert Krawisz, former executive director of the National Patient Safety Foundation. "The technology 's impact at VA hospitals so far has been amazing." The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) already uses bar codes nationwide in its hospitals, and the result has been a drastic reduction in medication errors. For example, the VA medical center in Topeka, Kan., has reported that bar coding reduced its medication error rate by 86 percent over a nine-year period. (US Food and Drug Administration 2013)
In conclusion, as you can see medication errors can cause many problems to health care organizations.
Propositioning ideas that will help the health care organizations make less error medication is simply the beginning to insuring patient quality care. Quality improvement all starts within the health care organization and its means to provide better and safer ways to help patients take the right medication. Making the effort and most important time to fit in this training and very good program will be the best for the organization to
succeed.
References
“Drugs” Strategies to Reduce Medication Errors: Working to Improve Medication Safety. N.p., 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Aug. 2013. <http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm143553.htm>.
"Information Statement." Prevention of Medication Errors. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2013. <http://www.aaos.org/about/papers/advistmt/1026.asp>.
"Robert Wood Johnson Foundation." RWJF. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2013. <http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2008/09/improving-quality-how-a-hospital-reduced-medication-errors.html>.
(2010). Medical quality management, theory and practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/jones-and-bartlett/2010/medical-quality-management_theory-and-practice_ebook_2e.php