...Medication errors are a serious threat to the provision of care in health institutions. There are concerns that healthcare agencies have not made much progress in ensuring that the consumers of health services receive the appropriate medication from the hospital personnel (Rash-Foanio et al., 2017). Among the methods of enhancing accurate medication procedures are increased training of health care providers engaged in administering medications and the expansion of oversight from government agencies. Additionally, many health institutions have transitioned to computer-based applications; Electronic Health Records (EHRs) – that store patient data to ensure accurate physician orders. Medication errors can result from the lack of patient/staff education and the overwhelming workload of nurses, and ultimately could lower hospital income due to an increase in the expenditures used to correct these errors. Health institutions and their respective EHR systems need to create more algorithms that flags possible errors in medication prescription/administration to track and lower the incidences at which the healthcare employees are likely to make mistakes. Causes of Medication Errors Patient safety has been a...
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...Medication Safety Patient safety is the first priority concern for leadership in all health care organizations. The medication delivery process is the most common intervention in health care system. For that reason medication safety is considered the most challenging and complex process in improving patient care and safety during hospitalization. Medication-related errors are serious and occur at a rate of about one per patient per day (Allan, 1990). It is a harmful practice affecting patient’s health and life. Some of these errors may result in death or inefficiency of organs functions. In addition, medication errors may financially affect the health care organization due to long patient stay in the hospital for advanced treatment (Presto, 2004). This research paper will provide highlights on medication errors definition, importance of safety during medication process, factors contributing to medication errors and effective factors in preventing medication errors. Medication errors were defined as a fault in medication that may occur at any stage of the process in ordering or delivering medications (Bates, Boyle, Vliet, Scheider & Leape, 1995), either an injury occurred or the potential for injury was present (Bates et al, 1999). These errors could occur in dosing error, which is common (Lesar, Briceland & Stein, 1997), or wrong route, or wrong time, or error in medicine rate and omission error (O’Shea, 1998). Also there are some situations such as missing a dose of...
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...improving patient’s safety. The role of nursing in improving medication safety has been largely underestimated. Much of the research undertaken to date in relation to adverse medication events has neglected the impact that nurses have or could have in improving patient safety. In examining literature regarding adverse medication events one can see the urgent need for significant improvement in medication practices and processes. In addition that this health care issue will only improve with the participation of all disciplines working towards a common goal of improving the safety of those in our care. Introduction Medications play a key role in healthcare but can also be a significant key cause of medical error and of adverse patient outcomes. Nurses by the nature of their roles in medication administration can be the last line of defense in eliminating or reducing adverse medication events. The administration of medication is a common and almost routine activity in a nurse’s daily work, yet it is fraught with complexity and risk for both the patient and nurse. As a student nurse working in partnership with a registered nurse I have observed a variety of practices in medication administration that have varied from what I have been taught in class. On reflecting on these practices and questioning nurses why such practice has been adopted has illustrated to me both the flawed processes and environment that nurses provide care in. Nurses will need to develop an understanding of...
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...government established an agency that prompted a series of health care related initiatives in Australia. The main objective is to provide support to the patients, health care worker and, and health care stakeholders. It is called the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The government provided the funding for the office to create initiatives in regards to safety in healthcare and improvement in the quality of healthcare in Australia. According to the article written by Sophie Scott, the Productivity Commission reported an increase in serious medical errors made in hospitals in Australia from 87-107 cases. However, despite of the report there is a decrease of serious adverse events from 2007-2012. There...
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...MEDICAL ERRORS 2 Abstract Patients rely on health care professionals and institutions for their safety and well-being (“Quality and patient,” 2009). According to Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2000), “medical errors are responsible for injury in as many as 1 out of every 25 hospital patients; an estimated 48,000-98,000 patients die from medical errors each year. Errors in health care have been estimated to cost more than $5 million per year in a large teaching hospital, and preventable health care-related errors cost the economy from $17 to $29 billion each year”. In addition to the monetary cost of errors, the physical and psychological costs such as pain, loss of loved ones, human suffering, disability or death are the greatest indelible mistakes. Medical errors lead to distrust of the health care system and drive patients away from visiting doctors leading to poor utilization of the health care system and consequently worse health care. Researchers estimate that about half of all medication errors are preventable. They suggest that when a medication error occurs, it is not the result of a single mistake, but rather a series of breakdowns in the health care delivery system therefore, this suggests that more checks and balances in patient care could prevent or remediate medication...
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...Abstract An electronic bar code medication administration was a system developed and successfully implemented in a 118-bed Veterans Administration hospital in February 2000. Known as Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA), this software proved useful in generating fast and accurate medication administration as well as online patient medication records preservation. The application created by the Eastern Kansas Health Care System in association with Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center has been modified a number of times to meet the general requirements in all U.S. Veterans Health Administration medical centers. The implementation of Barcode Medication Administration software has enabled electronic bedside administration of medication of medications. Online Barcode technology is revolutionizing medication administration more aspects than originally thought, and is such a blessing to the business industry in terms of cost cutting. To be honest, the force driving the momentum in the adoption of the new systems has been majorly based on financial, rather than safety concerns. The fee for- service compensation systems has done exceedingly well in increasing revenue to hospitals resulting from additional technology-related charges levied on patients for each dose dispensed (Cohen, 2002). From the evidences adduced in this research, bar code technology seems to hold great promise for general improvements in medication safety and efficiency. Nevertheless, evidence so far is limited...
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...understand the possible consequences of the act/s, which could include expulsion from Indiana Wesleyan University. Thesis The health care industry each years spends millions in medication errors that could be prevented. By implementing a data entry system that would allow access by medical professionals and pharmacies to collaborate and reduce the chance of medication errors dramatically. The data systems are pricy but when compared to the cost of medication errors and loss of lives it saves most medical establishments money. Annotated Bibliography The need for data entry systems to reduce medical errors Rinda, J. (2012). integration helps clinicians reduce medication errors. Health Management Technology , 33 (10), 12-13. With the risks of medication errors endangering lives, the technology has been gearing towards linking smart infusion pumps with health information platforms. Electronic health records have already been developed and are currently being used in some areas. This can lead to reductions in health care costs and increase in workflow. The medication errors could result in 400,000 preventable injuries each year. 1.5 million errors occur in the U.S. each year, resulting in $77 billion in cost annually. The iv integration system which is a form of the medication entry system, resulted in no iv related medication errors within the first 90 days used at Lancaster General Hospital. With the right implementation any healthcare would be able...
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...Medical errors have adverse effect on health care organization structure because it put a question mark on health profession’s reputation. The medical error definitely can cause harm to the patient or even the death. Medical errors can happen anywhere in healthcare system: in hospitals, clinics, surgery rooms. Medical mistakes can arise from doctors, nurses, surgeons, hospital administration, and many others. Medical errors affect the health care organizational structure, culture, and social in many ways. Medication errors have severe direct and indirect effects on health care organizational structure, and culture is usually the outcome of breakdowns in a system of care. Many reasons can involve in medical errors such as, miscommunication of drug order, mistakes made in medication, surgery, similar medication names, and laboratory results. Dr. Gray D.Kao treated Ricardo for his prostate cancer; it is a common surgical procedure: doctor implants dozens of radioactive seeds in the prostate gland to attack the disease, but Dr. Kio implant most of the seeds, 40 in all, inserted in healthy bladder, instead in prostate. According to federal rules, regulation it was a serious mistake. Dr. Kio performs another surgery on Ricardo to make his mistake clear second time but he failed in second seed implant too. No one reported this second mistake. Ricardo was still in so much pain, and suspicious about that still something wrong in his body. Doctors then prescribed narcotics. “It...
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...Annually, millions of Americans receive high-quality health care that restores their health to the best it can be and allows them to carry on functioning in society at their optimum best. Unfortunately this story does not resonate with some Americans who are far from happy about the level of care they received while sick. Quality problems are present in wide variation across board when talking delivery of health care services, in some instance, the issue could be with underutilization of a particular service, and other instances may include misuse of service which is generally preceded at onset by prior unacceptable level of errors. The purpose of this paper is to highlight medication errors as a health care safety issue. One solution involving automation would be explored since it has long been recognized as an important factor in reducing human errors in work processes. It is crucial to showcase this because numerous studies have substantiated the positive effects of health IT on quality and safety improvements, Slovenky & Menachemi (2011). A safety Initiative With new tools provided by the Affordable Care Act, hospitals can now aggressively implement programs with sole aim of assisting in the reduction of preventable errors. The act provides hospitals with incentives to improve the quality of health care, and provide real assistance to medical professionals, to support their efforts to reduce harm, McKinney & Zigmond (2011). The government predicted that this could save...
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...Medical errors have and continue to be an enormous problem in health care. Patients die from the wrong drug or wrong dosage, or perhaps an infection that could have been prevent with better hygiene practices. More attention was placed on the issue of medical errors in 2000 when the Institute of Medicine made available the well-known report titled “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System”. The report documented evidence of an estimated 44,000 people and as many as 98,000 people dying in hospitals from medical errors each year in the United States (IOM, 1999). Of the many medical errors, medication errors happen to be one that can not be overemphasized. Medication use have been found to account for at least 20 percent of adverse events in patients in hospitals. Out of every hundred medication orders, there is an occurrence of five adverse drug events (Tam, 2005). Malpractice claims due to adverse drug events can have negative effects on the hospital and the health care providers. The hospital and health care providers can have their reputation damaged, thousands of dollars are spent for the losses, there is time lost from work, not to mention the emotional stress involved (Rothschild et. al, 2002). The cost of preventable medication errors has been estimated between 17 and 29 billion dollars annually (Strohecker, 2003). As such, due to these alarming statistics, this paper focuses on some of the potential risks of medication errors, and some recommended interventions...
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...Results The data collection procedures for this research is by observation of 118 health care professionals preparing medication preparation of intravenous narcotic preparation. Researchers were focusing on 2 potential approaches to reducing medication error, individual error focus and systematic error focus. Observing the health care professionals with different procedural changes, process design, to see if it reduces the possibility of error is the appropriate data collection. This research did not directly involve patient identifiable health information. This study was based off of the data from the original study that used some patient protected health information. This research studied the two possible approaches that would possibly effect the reduction in medication errors. The principles of validity and reliability are essential bases of the scientific method. Validity of research must have been randomization of the sample groups and appropriate care and diligence shown in the allocation of controls (Shuttle, 2008). The research is validated since the sample group is randomized with professionals within their field such as RN’s that are licensed to prepare IV mediations along with hospital pharmacists. Also controls were allocated with diligence. For example, the group in the research were randomly selected and the controls, such as the same medications and stations, were kept the same for each participation as much as possible. The reliability of the research is...
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...provide the best care. We will discuss a few various types and uses of technology in the medical field as well as the impact they have on the medical facilities. We will also go over the technology trend I believe will improve the quality of care that is delivered to the patients in our healthcare organization. One of the biggest technological advancements in the medical industry is the electronic health record (EHR). Thought of as the “hub of the medical facility”, electronic health records are a version of a patient’s medical record that can be created, managed and consulted by authorized medical personnel (Wager, Lee, & Glaser, 2013). Electronic health records can be seen and used by more than one health care organization. Since paper medical records are no longer used, medical facilities no longer have to deal with illegible, incomplete or missing records. Electronic health records contain all of the patients past and present medical information to include: medications, allergies and lab results. The patient’s medical information is available whenever and wherever it is needed. The electronic health record systems have a multitude of functions available. One function that helps when it comes to patient safety is the computerized provider order entry. Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) is a way for providers to order medications, tests and labs electronically. Medication errors and adverse drug events are at the top of the list of medical errors in U.S. hospitals...
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...geriatric population, but for anyone who requires 24-hours care. Nursing homes focus their services for people who cannot be cared at home. Most nursing homes have nursing aides and skilled nurses on hand 24 hours a day. Many of them are set up like a hospital setting. This type of facility provides interdisciplinary medical care, such as physical, speech, and occupational therapy, or even specialized care units. Patient Safety Among the key challenges of patient care, quality, and safety is to ensure that there are no injuries to patients from the care intended to help them. Another challenge is to provide care that is respectful of and responsive to patient preferences, needs, and values. Since the nation's health care system is prone to errors which can be detrimental to quality and safety. In fact, a variety of stakeholders are responsible of ensuring that patient care is delivered with the highest quality standards and that no harm occurs to patients. However, the possibility of errors is...
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...References 14 Introduction Attention to medical errors escalated over five years ago with the release of a study from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), To Err is Human, which found that between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year in U.S. hospitals due to preventable medical errors. Hospital errors rank between the fifth and eighth leading cause of death, killing more Americans than breast cancer, traffic accidents or AIDS. Serious medication errors occur in the cases of five to 10 percent of patients admitted to hospitals. These numbers may understate the problem because they do not include preventable deaths due to medical treatments outside of hospitals (Vantage Professional Education, 2009). Background Medical malpractice is professional negligence that can cause injury which may result in death, substantial economic damages to the patient. Most cases of medical malpractice involve inaccurate diagnosis or misdiagnosis. There has been various and unfolding problems occurring in the United States domestic healthcare for many years. The most grave problem experienced in the healthcare industry is the suborn increase of medical errors in the healthcare industry. Some of the most serious incidents observed in medical errors include: misread handwritten prescriptions. Wrongly prescribed medication and improper dosages administered to patients during hospitalization, and pamphlets accompanied by prescription...
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...http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9728.html We ship printed books within 1 business day; personal PDFs are available immediately. To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System Linda T. Kohn, Janet M. Corrigan, and Molla S. Donaldson, Editors; Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine ISBN: 0-309-51563-7, 312 pages, 6 x 9, (2000) This PDF is available from the National Academies Press at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/9728.html Visit the National Academies Press online, the authoritative source for all books from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council: • Download hundreds of free books in PDF • Read thousands of books online for free • Explore our innovative research tools – try the “Research Dashboard” now! • Sign up to be notified when new books are published • Purchase printed books and selected PDF files Thank you for downloading this PDF. If you have comments, questions or just want more information about the books published by the National Academies Press, you may contact our customer service department tollfree at 888-624-8373, visit us online, or send an email to feedback@nap.edu. This book plus thousands more are available at http://www.nap.edu. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF File are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Distribution, posting, or copying...
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