Medication Errors and Prevention Strategies Essay

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda®
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment

Medication errors commonly occur in the hospital environment between the time a medical worker orders a medication and when a patient receives it. It is defined as improper pharmaceutical usage or patient harm caused while the medication is under a professional’s or medical worker’s, or hospital’s control (Brown, 2020). Because of the large number of drugs, and high-alert medications per patient, the preoperative area is the most intense in hospitals (PSQH, 2016). Thus, anesthesia providers are the most vulnerable to making errors. This means the chance of picking up the wrong medication during the operation by anesthesia providers is considerably high, which leads to the medication dose being withdrawn (PSQH, 2016). Most of the time, those affected by the current clinical problem are kids and older adults, for whom the dose was not correctly arranged. According to Hathaway (2020), studies have shown that medication error has become the third leading cause of death, with 250 thousand cases per year. Meanwhile, Brown (2020) states that up to 14 percent of patients, which is approximately 1.5 million people, are affected by medication errors each year. These numbers show that even though the safety and proper administration of drugs is crucial for a medical worker delivering patient care, medication mistakes remain a critical problem in the healthcare system.

A comprehensive analysis and research synthesis are needed to improve reporting of medication errors. Research synthesis is usually used to evaluate ideas, better understand essential processes, and plan further research activities. The following PICOT question can be presented to analyze the effectiveness of preventive strategies: How do medication error prevention measures increase provider awareness during medication preparation and delivery among healthcare workers during a half-year period? Multiple approaches are proposed to minimize the medication errors made by medical workers. For instance, concentrations of all high-alert drugs used during the preoperational period, including phenylephrine and epinephrine, should be standardized. The types and amounts of medications used in the preoperational area should be limited within 24 hours. Another strategical method is to deliver all the drugs and medicines through innovative software with dosage checking (PSQH, 2016). These and other methods can decrease the number of fatal cases and the effect of medication errors on hospitalized patients.

References

Brown, S., L. (2020). Medication Error Prevention Strategies. MSN Capstone Projects, 61. Web.

Hathaway, B. (2020). Yale News. Web.

PSQH. (2016). IInstitute for Safe Medication Practices. Web.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2023, September 28). Medication Errors and Prevention Strategies. https://ivypanda.com/essays/medication-errors-and-prevention-strategies/

Work Cited

"Medication Errors and Prevention Strategies." IvyPanda, 28 Sept. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/medication-errors-and-prevention-strategies/.

References

IvyPanda. (2023) 'Medication Errors and Prevention Strategies'. 28 September.

References

IvyPanda. 2023. "Medication Errors and Prevention Strategies." September 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/medication-errors-and-prevention-strategies/.

1. IvyPanda. "Medication Errors and Prevention Strategies." September 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/medication-errors-and-prevention-strategies/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Medication Errors and Prevention Strategies." September 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/medication-errors-and-prevention-strategies/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
1 / 1