...Improving The Safety Of Using Medications In Hospital Settings Background Improving the safety of using medications was the third Joint Commission safety goal for 2014 (Hospital National Patient Safety Goals, n.d.). Every year medication errors are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. Simply put, medication errors come from incorrect dosing by physicians on prescriptions, administration of the wrong dose of the prescribed medication to the patient, failure of the healthcare provider to administer prescribed medication, or failure of the patient to ingest said prescribed medication (Choo, J., Hutchinson, A., & Bucknall, T., 2010). Role of the Nurse According to the Journal of Nursing Management, nurses should practice the five rights of administration that they are taught while in school. Those rights are: right medication, right dose, right route, right time, and right patient (Choo, J., Hutchinson, A., & Bucknall, T., 2010). While checking the five rights is useful in the final stages of the administration process, the rights do not reflect the other complex steps to medication administration, such as preparation, labeling, determining interaction, etc. Normally medication errors are never the result of an isolated human error. They may come from workplace stress, distractions, interruptions, insufficient training, and misinformation (Choo, J., Hutchinson, A., & Bucknall, T., 2010). The individual nurse should make sure that...
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...Bar Code Safety and Efficacy http://www.psqh.com/sepoct05/barcodingrfid1.html Errors that occur earlier in the medication process are more readily detected (~50% are prevented during the ordering stage) while very few (< 2%) are caught at the administration stage (bates et al., 1995). further, it has been noted that more than one third of medication errors occur at the latter stage (leape et al., 1995). because of the relatively high proportion of errors and the lack of success preventing them, error reduction strategies targeted at the administration stage High rates of preventable medication errors have been repeatedly reported in studies in the medical literature (Bates et al., 1995; Leape et al., 1995; Flynn et al., 2002; Kanjanarat et al., 2003). It is difficult, however, to cite a single number to define the extent of the medication error problem due to differences in institutions, study methodologies, error definitions, and other variables. On the high end of estimates, one study that compiled data from 36 institutions reported 19% (~1 in 5) of the medication doses studied over a 4-day period involved medication errors (Barker et al., 2002). These errors included wrong time (43%), omission (30%), wrong dose (17%), and unauthorized drug (4%). The number of these errors deemed potentially harmful adverse drug events (ADEs) was 7%. A comprehensive review of medication error studies cited in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2000 report on errors in the U.S. healthcare system...
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...care that had been prescribed powerful psychiatric medications. These medications were given four times the rate of other children. Concerns have been on the rise for children that are given “psychotropic medications”. Primarily the concern is high for those children in foster care, and who receive Medicaid, because they are in a system that has lost structure of the importance of the health and welfare of children and adolescence. Also because foster children are more likely to have more emotional and social issues, and need treatment to include psychiatric medication. Psychotropic medications are those that affect the nervous system and produce many changes in behavior or awareness. These medications can be given in the form of a tranquilizer, sedative or antidepressant. Changes should be made to prevent how children receive medications, to deter overdosing and complications from misdiagnosing the child’s illness. The effect that psychiatric drugs have on children can be sometimes upsetting. Psychiatric or psychotropic medications are used to help children with behavioral impairment. Changes should be made that will benefit children in situations as mentioned. Not only in foster care but any child that is prescribed psychiatric (psychotropic) medications. Implementing change that will assure children are prescribe the right mediations, and are given the medication according to their treatment plan, to ensure the safety of those affected by misdiagnosis. Ensuring that a...
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...has some of the highest percentage rates; when it comes to the cost of medication, compared to other countries. It is 35-55 percent cheaper to buy medicine in other modern day countries than in the United States (Baker 2004). That is a staggering 45-55 percent difference in the cost of getting the same drug from another country. So, are these drugs equivalent and how can one know but rely on the source of where the medication is coming from? Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Mark McClellan said “there is no evidence that unapproved imported drugs are becoming any safer or more reliable” on why the United States does not buy drugs from other countries (Badger 2004). The FDA argues they are not the same...
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...To evaluate the difference in the level of discrimination towards people who have received psychiatric treatment; before and after watching an intervention video. Research Report Name Institutional Affiliations Abstract Background: Existing literature provides that intervention methods play a significant role in reducing the level of discrimination against people who have been treated for mental conditions. The study hypothesized that the level of discrimination would diminish after administration of a personal experience video of hearing voices. Method: A sample N=161 was used where participants filled in questionnaires regarding their behaviour against people who have been previously mentally ill. The questionnaires were filled before and after the participants watched an intervention video. Results: Initial results showed that the mean level of discrimination diminished after the intervention video was administered. A paired sample t-test showed a significant difference between the two situations. Discussion: The study attested to the hypothesis whereby it noted a change in the mean level of discrimination. The findings also open room for further studies on the same. Introduction A lot of research has been done on the levels of discrimination towards individuals who receive psychiatric treatment. Some of the studies have sought to determine the degree of prejudice before and after intervention methods have been applied to...
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...Angelina Arroyo Mod 5 Essay April 11th, 2016 English Diagnosis Inflation: The age of the Cry Babies At one point or another in our lives we have over heard someone say something like “I’m like so OCD”. At some point in the past several decades the harmless play on phrases related to mental illness has definitely increased, but how much of it is actually harmless. We live in a day and age where not everyone diagnosed is actually biologically mentally ill. Allen J Francis is a world renowned MD in a psychiatric unit based out of the Columbia Presbyterian medical center and new York psychiatric institute. He is also the author of “The New Crisis of Confidence in Psychiatric Diagnosis; a paper written in 2013. The paper reports that there has been an uprising in diagnoses of anxiety disorder, mood disorder, childhood bipolar, autism, and ADD. The question to ponder is how of these numbers were deemed correctly and how many are the crybabies of America. Who is sick and who is not? There are multiple theories as to why the inflation has occurred. The first is the awareness levels. Due to the fact that mental illness is more prevalent now, more people are able to recognize what’s going on. Though this is a great step forward, it is a weak theory and can only be accounted for a small percentage. The next theory is that the age we live in is stressful. I think this is the weakest of theories because we have life much easier than those who used to freeze to death while they...
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...diabetes, heart disease or a mental illness, continued follow up and care are essential for patient outcomes. A large part of compliance is continuing medication as prescribed, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, (2012) estimates that of prescriptions written 20-30% are never even filled. For those suffering from severe mental illness the issue arises when adherence stops and symptoms take control of their daily lives, putting them at increased risk for substance abuse, assaultive behavior and lower quality of life. Despite continued evidence supporting the efficacy of psychiatric medications in improving symptoms only about half of those receiving medication treatment take it as prescribed. Even worse, in a recent randomized clinical-trial studying anti-psychotic for effectiveness it was reported that 74% of those prescribed medication discontinued use after 18 months (Roe, Goldblatt, Baloush-Klienman, Swarbrick & Davidson, 2009). But for many patients more medication means additional side effects, less freedom and change in their view of themselves. Professionals taking care of these individuals in acute care or long-term settings are left wondering how this vicious cycle can be stopped. In order to further comprehend why individuals suffering from serious mental illness make the decision to discontinue their medication researchers developed a study based on the interview of seven participants with the diagnosis of either Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder or Bipolar...
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...accurate diagnosis for minors. Thousands of children are prescribed antipsychotic drugs without proper medical assessments. I have a two and half year old son and I would not be willing to put him on any mental health drug unless I was absolutely certain it was necessary. These mental health drugs can cause suicidal thinking and behavior. It can also lead to an altered personality, or lack thereof. These drugs can be harmful to brain and physical development in younger children. According to the U.S. Surgeon General (2000), as many as 1 in 10 American children and adolescents a year have “significant functional impairment” as a result of a mental health disorder. The trends in administering psychotropic medication to young children are on a rise in the U.S. Since psychotropic medications are substances that affect brain chemicals related to mood and behavior (NIMH, 2009). These trends have caused a great deal of debate. All parties without an economic agenda agree that there should be more research and education in the treatment and assessment of mental health illnesses. Currently, many people are in agreement that mental health drug regulations for minors should be monitored more closely and that more research is needed about the effects of these drugs in younger children. The National Institute of Mental Health recognizes that more needs to be...
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...that an eye specialist had examined him. I think that this tragedy has a great impact on depression drugs used by Lubitz. The chemical imbalance in the brain, which really cannot prove that there is no blood test for mentally illness even the phrase mental illness itself, is a challenge. These drugs makers who produce these mental pills and especially the “Prozac” which was taken by Andreas Lubitz had an important impact in shaping his personality. Based on research that I have done online lately regarding this matter of “what makes someone give up his life and taking others’ lives without a moral thinking”. There is no such evidence or test that can be done to prove that a mentally ill person is feeling well after taking psychiatric medications. How should the airline handle this particular issue? The only way in my opinion is to get involve in the life of each crewmember, knowing what problems they have been through, what meals...
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...the elderly offenders in 2007 over ten percent of inmates in prisons were 50 years or older and many with serious health problems. Mentally ill and substance abusing prisoners In this paper I will be discussing the two common types of special needs offenders, the mentally ill and the substance abusing offenders. Among the prison population there are mentally ill prisoners, special needs offenders, and substance-abusing offenders. These special offenders affect the jail and prison systems at state and federal levels because they require special attention. If they do not receive special attention like doctor supervision or prescribed medication, they can harm themselves or others, and become sick from substance related illnesses. Mentally ill offenders must have access to mental health therapies, psychotropic medications, and types of...
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...be a wide range of conditions on mental health and also known to be a disorder affecting an individual’s behavior, thinking and mood. Some example includes addictive behaviors, eating disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorder and depression. From time to time, most individuals are known to have numerous mental health concerns. Mental health concern are actually not mental illnesses but if they persist and the symptoms and sings result to recurring stress that affect an individual’s ability to function, then they can be considered to be mental illness. Mental illness is quite a big problem to an individual and usually turns an individual to be miserable throughout their day if they are not well managed. Counseling (psychotherapy) and a medication combination is mostly used to manage mental illness. Mental illness symptoms and signs are known to be varying depending on particular circumstances, disorder and numerous other factors. An individuals behaviors, thought and emotions are mostly affected by a mental illness. most mental illness are known not to improve on their own but they get worse if they go untreated over a long time and causing a lot of damage. Treatment of mental illness varies depending on the mental illness type, its severity and the form, kind or type of treatment that will work to a particular individual. Two individual having a similar mental illness condition might have to treat them differently as one treatment may not work for both the individuals. An individual...
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...Some depression, like that which comes with genetic heredity, permanent brain chemical imbalance or brain damage may never be able to be eliminated. But, even then depression can be managed with medication, lifestyle changes, high awareness, and treatment of symptoms. One of the most common treatments is taking antidepressants which are for the more serious cases where the depression has an intense onset due to trauma or when it is obvious that there is a brain chemistry imbalance. There are many ways to scan the brain using imaging and electrical sensory devices that can help make a very specific diagnosis of various brain imbalances. Unfortunately, these tests are not yet widely utilized or publicized. Medications help make people more emotionally stable and can lighten up their mood up to 70%. The only down-side to medication is that it will not alleviate life stressors and the medications can have awful side effects. So, though it is helpful to ward off the acute dangers of depression, it could have a bad long term effects. The second most common treatment is counseling for the less severe cases and in duo with medication for more severe cases. This will help with the problems and have a better long term effect. In some cases counseling or medication are not needed. Depression can be temporary and with changes in life situations, the passing of a traumatic event, or lifestyle changes, it can pass through on its own. There are now many alternative healing...
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...Medication Madness Book Review In partial fulfillment of the requirement of N3335 December 02, 2011 Online RN- BSN Medication Madness I chose to review “Medication Madness” by Peter R.Breggin, M.D. First of all I was attracted to this book by the name medication madness which made me to be curious to know what the book is all about. Madness, we know is a state of mental imbalance and when attributed to medication, it calls for interest. I came to understand that medication madness is an extreme expression of medication spellbinding leading to people to behave in ways that they would otherwise reject as hazardous or wrong (Breggin, 2008, p.19) .This book motivated me because it has elements of factual information, according to the author Bregggin, who is a psychiatrist that the stories are “true stories”. Breggin establishes reflection on the physical impairment due to drugs. In overall I was thrilled by the standard of effective educative communication by the author. Topic of interest: Medication Spellbinding One of the things that made the greatest impression on me is the word medication spell binding which “describes how drugs mask or hide their harmful mental and emotional effects from the people who are taking them” (Breggin, p.18). I always think that anti psychotic or antidepressant drugs are given to have a positive tranquil effect on patients not knowing that it could cause suicidality or make one violent without...
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...illnesses. Dr. Bacon chooses the medicine before he knows the diagnosis. Getting the right treatment can take a long time. This is due to the number of drugs and the symptoms that may respond to the drugs. We have mood stabilizers and (A)-typical antipsychotics, just to name a few. It’s an experiment trying these medications on these children. Our other option is we must let them be symptomatic. It’s a gamble trying medications on children at such a young age. Upping medications may bring on other symptoms that did not previously exist. Many psychologists think it is impossible to diagnose bipolar disorder in children. All the debate and confusion has led to over diagnoses. Many children with bipolar disorder are being treated by physicians or family doctors who are not familiar with the disorder. The thoughtful and careful examination of the symptoms and thinking through the problem does not exist in most physician clinics or with the family doctors due to the number of people who need to be seen. The bipolar disorder spectrum of symptoms can overlap with other diagnoses. This has led to pediatricians and family doctors over-diagnosing bipolar disorder. Medications have a completely different impact on children as opposed to adults. Many kids are misdiagnosed all together and now...
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...according to Nancy Andreasen. The article states that some scientist believes that the earlier the treatment starts the better the prognosis. One Yale University study by psychiatrist Thomas McGlashan was putting at risk patients as young as 12 on antipsychotic medications before they showed clear signs of the mental illness. Some scientist believes that the experiment will show that drugs can head off the worst symptoms. Early treatments remain controversial because there is no sure way to tell who are more at risk. So the scientist could possible give someone who is not at risk an unnecessary dosage of antipsychotic medication which has a range of side effects that include but are not limited to weight gain, drowsiness, intense dreams or nightmares and seizures. According to February 25, 2009 study in New England Journal of Medicine having parents with schizophrenia increases the chances of the child obtaining the illness; stating that if both parents have schizophrenia it increases the child’s chances to 50 percent. Scientist plan to prevent the disease by having at risk patients take antipsychotic medication. As of right now they are not certain on the long term dangers of putting such patients on the medication and when, if ever they will be able to stop. Some scientists already believe that they are zeroing in on genes associated with schizophrenia. Psychiatrist Barbara Cornblatt, M.D., director of high risk studies at Hillside Hospital in New York believe there is a tremendous...
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