Medication and Care Assignment Paper

Medication and Care Assignment

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Medication and Care Assignment
Culture and Environment of Safety
There are diverse factors to consider when preparing and administering medication related to the patient’s safety. The culture and environment of safety entail proper comprehension of the policies on medication administration. The nurses should only give the medication to patients as per the physician’s prescription in writing. No verbal orders should be accepted. Nurses are expected to check with the physician if they have any doubt regarding the medication order. Furthermore, the nurses must avoid distraction when preparing and administering medications to patients.
It is also essential to check medication labels when preparing, administering, or replacing the medications on the shelves. Being accurate on the medication’s placements will enhance competency and ease of comparison. A nurse is expected to check out the medication’s strengths and administration route to prevent potential side effects implicating the patient’s safety. The healthcare practitioners must read all medication labels carefully to determine what medication is suitable for which patient. It is also prudent to check the patients’ health records for health complications such as allergies. Other safety measures include checking out the medication expiration dates, changes in medication’s properties, and the exact measures.
Common Breach of Medication Administration
There are different types of medication administration breaches, which have increasingly affected healthcare performance. The most common breach includes the provision of the wrong dosage to the patient. This is a form of negligence among health care practitioners as this shows the inadequacy of professionalism in prioritizing the patients’ wellbeing. Besides, this shows less attention is given to the patients’ medical records when reviewing their wellness and treatment progress. A wrong dose breaches the patients’ rights to safety as they are exposed to significant health challenges and threats.
Three Factors Leading to Errors in Documentation Related to Medication Administration
Documentation errors in medication administration are a significant problem in today’s healthcare industry. Among the significant factors causing these errors include distractions. Healthcare practitioners are prone to distractions while documenting patients’ information on the electronic and manual health records. These , being mentally unavailability or preoccupied, and multitasking during the documentation process (Tsegaye et al., 2020). These are common forms of interruptions during medication administration. Besides, distractions and interruptions are the leading causes of care threats and documented wrong information, which brings more problems to the patients’ treatment process.
Secondly, it is the infrastructural problems in various health care institutions. Most hospitals are currently using modern electronic health recording systems to ensure their patients’ health information is well kept. However, there is the problem of infrastructure updates which most hospitals do not do. This leads to the failure of the systems and hinders the hospital’s overall operations in the documentation and proper medication administration (Tsegaye et al., 2020). The third factor includes the lack of proper personnel training among health care professionals on documentation. Lack of to erroneous data entry, affecting medication administration as erroneous information is used to depict the treatment offered.
Prevention of Medication Errors
Medication errors have led to significant healthcare problems, including increased care costs and legal issues. Thus, health institutions must prevent medication errors to help improve patient care. Practical strategies include minimizing clutter at the pharmacy to prevent confusion, efficient medication order verification, and using barcodes in medication identity (Salar et al., 2020). Further, it is essential for health professionals to be aware of the , trust their gut, and involve their patients in treatment. Lastly, practitioners need to have a second eye on prescriptions by consulting while hospitals increasingly design effective warning systems.

References
Salar, A., Kiani, F., & Rezaee, N. (2020). Preventing the medication errors in hospitals: A qualitative study.International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences,13, 100235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2020.100235
Tsegaye, D., Alem, G., Tessema, Z., & Alebachew, W. (2020). Medication administration errors and associated factors among nurses.International Journal of General Medicine,13, 1621. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S289452
Wondmieneh, A., Alemu, W., Tadele, N., & Demis, A. (2020). Medication administration errors and contributing factors among nurses: A cross-sectional study in tertiary hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.BMC Nursing,19(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-0397-0