A recent study by medical students at Harvard University shows that there is an increase in errors related to medication administration. Every medical officer is bound by a legal mandate to properly assess the medical condition of a patient and administer medication according to professional standards. The medical administration personnel should be careful when assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients to avoid any form of error that might lead to a legal concern. However, most of the lawsuits filed in courts today are a result of negligence caused by my medical administration officers due to carelessness and failure to adhere to the legal standards. It is thus the responsibility of the medical professionals to follow the available ethics and codes of conduct in their profession to reduce the legal liabilities caused by errors in the administration of medication.
Due to the increasing claims by patients on the errors caused by poor drug administration, medical professionals should ensure that they follow the codes of ethics to the latter. The code acts as a constant reminder for professionals to adhere to medical administration standards. In addition, it also reduces errors that might occur while treating a patient. To begin with, the medical practitioners are supposed to access the medical condition of a patient and then plan for the situation before the administration of drugs. Secondly, the medical professionals should also diagnose the condition properly and then proceed to treatment. The most critical stage is the follow-up because it prevents any damage caused by a lack of proper treatment (Killion & Dempski, 2006).
Medical professionals are also entitled to the privacy and protection of the patient’s information. Protection of the information entails caring for the medical documents which belong to the patient. The patient is considered by the law as a legal entity that has the sole interest and is entitled to protection by medical officers. Moreover, the medical professionals and technicians are also entitled to accurate entries of records and information concerning the welfare of the patients. The medical records prevent any form of an error that may occur in the event of drug administration or even diagnosis of a patient from infection. These errors might cause the injury of a patient or worse still lead to a loss of life (Pozgar, 2007).
Medical administration technicians should be taught the proper ways to the administration of medication. Some medications can be delegated through injections, inhalations, oral delegation, and even anal injections. It is thus the responsibility of the technicians to understand the proper way of medication to reduce any forms of injuries. This also helps to reduce the risks of outcomes and also increase the safety of the patients thus avoiding legal complaints. Nevertheless, the protocols and plans of diagnosis should be considered at all times during the treatment of a patient (Pozgar, 2007).
To recapitulate, medical personnel should adhere to the codes of ethical standards when administrating medication. As a result, this helps to reduce the risks and the errors which lead to the injuries of the patients. In addition, it also helps to reduce legal claims which lead to liability in case of injury or even a loss of life. As a result, the number of legal issues regarding medication administration will be greatly reduced. Thus issues concerning criminal charges and liabilities caused by negligence will also be reduced.
Reference List
Killion, S. W., & Dempski, K. (2006). Legal and ethical issues. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.
Pozgar, G. D. (2007). Legal aspects of health care administration. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.