Medication Administration Errors
Medication administration errors, though preventable, are a common problem. “One-third of all medication errors that cause harm to patients arise during medication administration (Bates et al., 1995). Many nurses identify interruptions as a key factor contributing medication administration errors (Tang, Sheu, Yu, Wei, and Chen, 2007; Fry & Dacey, 2007). To enhance patient safety, effects of interruptions during medication administration must be evaluated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an interruption free zone, in reducing medication administration errors amongst nurses during nine a.m. medication rounds in a hospital. Though, prior studies have concluded a correlation between interruptions and medication administration
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“This report identified flaws in the health care system and reported at least 44,000 to 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented (Institute of Medicine (IOM), 1999).” As a result of this publication, an evidence based research movement was initiated to improve patient safety.
Patient safety is the number one goal of all healthcare facilities. It determines whether facilities will maintain accreditation, funding and most importantly the quality of care patients receive. Therefore, it is imperative that failures to maintain patient safety be addressed to avoid recreation.
Among patient safety concerns, medication administration errors are preventable. For the purpose of this study, an medication error will be defined as any preventable event or deviation from the physician’s order that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medicine is in the control of the nurse (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP), 2010). The definition was adopted from the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention and altered to include, any deviation from the physician’s orders, to allow for error to be …show more content…
The occurrences of errors are a result of a combination of factors including, but not limited to, drug name similarity, drug labeling, and proper dose concentration. These factors contributing to medication error are already difficult to identify without the addition of interruptions.
“An interruption is an activity that stops the nurse from performing an immediate task (Potter et al., 2005).” “Interruptions affect the nurses’ ability to focus on the task at hand and ability to resume or recall if steps of the medication administration process were completed properly (Potter et al., 2005).” Inability to focus during the recommended medication administration policies and guidelines will increase likelihood of error.
The avoidance of interruptions during medication administration is crucial in preventing medication errors, as it is a critical time when nurses review and ensure all steps of the medication process are correct, prior to patient administration. Nevertheless, nurses are often interrupted numerous times during this
“This report identified flaws in the health care system and reported at least 44,000 to 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented (Institute of Medicine (IOM), 1999).” As a result of this publication, an evidence based research movement was initiated to improve patient safety.
Patient safety is the number one goal of all healthcare facilities. It determines whether facilities will maintain accreditation, funding and most importantly the quality of care patients receive. Therefore, it is imperative that failures to maintain patient safety be addressed to avoid recreation.
Among patient safety concerns, medication administration errors are preventable. For the purpose of this study, an medication error will be defined as any preventable event or deviation from the physician’s order that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medicine is in the control of the nurse (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP), 2010). The definition was adopted from the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention and altered to include, any deviation from the physician’s orders, to allow for error to be …show more content…
The occurrences of errors are a result of a combination of factors including, but not limited to, drug name similarity, drug labeling, and proper dose concentration. These factors contributing to medication error are already difficult to identify without the addition of interruptions.
“An interruption is an activity that stops the nurse from performing an immediate task (Potter et al., 2005).” “Interruptions affect the nurses’ ability to focus on the task at hand and ability to resume or recall if steps of the medication administration process were completed properly (Potter et al., 2005).” Inability to focus during the recommended medication administration policies and guidelines will increase likelihood of error.
The avoidance of interruptions during medication administration is crucial in preventing medication errors, as it is a critical time when nurses review and ensure all steps of the medication process are correct, prior to patient administration. Nevertheless, nurses are often interrupted numerous times during this