Issues on Medication Errors

Computers foot hold every(prenominal) the persevering's information, including a list of the medications they are taking, and alert doctors to potential interactions when they regulate orders. The system of rules can be linked to the laboratory to mechanic all in ally generate orders for critical laboratory work, and can flag defective findings. Nurses no longer open to transcribe orders to medications sheets manually; the system generates a medication administration record (MAR), which is automatonlikeally updated when a doctor enters a natural order.

Software can barrack for patient allergies to drugs, and drug conflicts, and post alerts (Lafleur, 2004, 30). Automatic dispensing cabinets can hold medications for patients. Bar code implementation will help with ensuring the tailfin "rights" of medication administration. However, The basic bar code point of tutorship scanner will not pick up chemist's errors, so still leaves some room for dosage errors.

The main barrier to instituting these impertinently procedures is approach: not many hospitals have the funding to buy computer order entry systems with an estimated cost between $3 million and $20 million; self-loading dispensing cabinets ranging from $450,000 to $3 million, and bar code equipment costing roughly $377,000 per hospital (Lafleur, 2004, 30). Computer literacy of staff, funding for staff re kickoffs and extended training sessions, expert support funding

This is part of the new Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' (JCAHO) new requirements for complying with the patient safety goal of improving communication (Lafleur, 2004, 31). This compliance includes a ban on certain abbreviations and acronyms which can lead to mistakes, e.g. 4.0 which can be confused with 40, IU which can be read as IV or 10, Q.D. (every day) and Q.O.D. (every separate day) (31).

JCAHO has assigned a high-alert attitude to the drugs insulin, potassium chloride, morphine, hydromorphine HCl, heparin, and warfarin sodium because they carry a keener potential for injury when medical errors in their dosage occur. Since there are an ever-increasing number of drugs coming into use, nurses should always familiarize themselves with drugs when dispensing them for the inaugural time.

While all these new technologies hold out great potential for decreasing the number of medication errors, every look where there is human input is a potential source of error: a doctor may enter a wrong patient name, or medication name; the automatic pharmacy dispenser may dispense the wrong dose of a drug; the condition of a patient may heighten rapidly, and require medication adjustments - responsibility still needs to be taken at the individual level (Lafleur, 2004, 31). Nurses should double erupt if they have any doubts, verbal medication orders should not be taken unless it is absolutely necessary, and then they should repeat the order loudly to double check.

, changes in facility layout, new computer equipment needs, and integration electronic and paper patient records are some of the other hurdles which must be overcome before these new technologies can be implemented nationwide in all hospitals, large and small.

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