Credibility and Validity of the Sources
The following question is common in the health facilities within the USA: What are the solutions to medication errors? A medication mistake is an error that can harm or lead to the death of the client (Batch, & Vanderveen, 2016). A clinical error can occur when the physician is prescribing the dosage to the patient. Therefore, over-prescription, under prescription, ineffective prescription, inappropriate, and wrong prescriptions are all clinical mistakes. Errors can also occur during the process of drug administration. An example is when a physician applies an intramuscular technique instead of intravenous. Other errors arise due to the administration of the wrong dose or wrong timing of drug intake. This essay will evaluate three peer-reviewed sources that explore the possible solutions to medication errors. The paper will also assess the credibility and validity of the chosen sources. Finally, the write-up will analyze and synthesize the data and information collected from the various sources.
Batch, R. M., & Vanderveen, T. W. (2016). U.S. Patent No. 9,427,520. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This is a peer-reviewed journal that is protected by the USA patent authority. The piece of research attempts to find solutions to the medication errors in the country. The authors are established medical practitioners for many years in the healthcare industry. The paper suggests the application of the electronic system to manage the medication errors.
Schiff, G. D., Amato, M. G., Eguale, T., Boehne, J. J., Wright, A., Koppel, R., … & Bates, D. W. (2015). Computerised physician order entry-related medication errors: analysis of reported errors and vulnerability testing of current systems. BMJ Qual Saf, 24(4), 264-271. This source is original research that suggests the computerization of healthcare systems to reduce the medication errors. The paper also proposes other solutions to medication errors such as adjusting the work schedules and working environment of caregivers. The sample size is significant as the study contemplates a solution to over one million medication errors. The study took seven years.
Maaskant, J. M., Vermeulen, H., Apampa, B., Fernando, B., Ghaleb, M. A., Neubert, A., … & Soe, A. (2015). Interventions for reducing medication errors in children in the hospital. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (3). This is a peer-reviewed research journal that seeks to find remedies for medication errors in young individuals. The authors relied on information from credible sources such as the Cochrane Library, EBRASE, and MEDLINE to source for data. The selection criterion is a randomized controlled technique. The research paper applied EPOC method to collect data. The sample size is reasonable as it contains seven studies that result in five solutions. Therefore, the three research papers include credible and reliable information on solutions to medication errors. The USA hospitals should apply the recommendations to eliminate the clinical mistakes.
Solution to Medication Errors
The simplification of the medication methods is the first remedy for the clinical mistakes. Additionally, health facilities should reduce the number of hand-offs during the process of medical treatment (Schiff et al., 2015). A majority of mistakes occur due to minor slips in the transfer of people, information, and materials from one department to the other. Therefore, health facilities should create methods that can completely minimize the hand-offs.
Health facilities should also standardize their operations for uniformity and efficiency in service delivery. The hospital should apply a unique method of dosage delivery to cater for different complications. Furthermore, a health organization should have a well-written plan for attending to each patient (Maaskant et al., 2015). Similarly performing a task over a long time minimizes the clinical mistakes. Therefore, the hospitals should standardize their operations for error-free treatment.
Hospitals should encourage the staff members to apply the computerized system of treatment to minimize errors. Additionally, the caregivers should rely on the electronic system in drug administration (Schiff et al., 2015). Over-reliance in human memory can cause errors when the individual gets tired after a tedious assignment. However, computerized and electronic systems have an elaborate memory that does not exhaust during treatment. Therefore, health facilities should replace the human consciousness with the electronic system.
Health stakeholders should train the caregivers on the types of medication errors and the remedies to the mistakes. Furthermore, the training should encourage the care providers to work in groups and check the activities of their colleagues. The hospital administrator should avail complete and relevant information on clinical mistakes (Batch, & Vanderveen, 2016). An informed health practitioner commits minimal mistakes. Therefore, training is necessary to reduce medication errors and improve the patients’ safety.
Health facilities should apply the force functions and constraints to prevent medication errors. The first technique of applying restrictions is by documenting the punishment for caregivers who commit errors (Maaskant et al., 2015). The fears of the consequences that follow errors limit the chances of mistakes by the physicians. The computerized system should also verify the surety of the caregiver before a medical administration. The application of constraints assists in limiting the medication errors.
Hospitals should use design systems to minimize the occurrence of clinical errors during medical attention. The system detects and corrects the errors; hence ensuring a patient’s safety. Health facilities should also install the method of double-checks to minimize clinical mistakes (Batch, & Vanderveen, 2016). A caregiver should cross-examine the medication issued by another care provider to eliminate medical doubts. Recent research indicates that double-checks reduces medication errors by more than fifty percent.
Work schedule issues are also the leading causes of medication errors in USA hospitals. A workstation that records a considerable number of patients with few caregivers records numerous clinical mistakes due to work overload (Maaskant et al., 2015). Therefore, hospitals should employ adequate staff to attend to the increasing number of patients. The shift hours should also be convenient to reduce work burnout among caregivers. Therefore, a hospital should adjust the work schedules to minimize medication errors.
Unfavorable work environment also leads to medication errors. Therefore, the hospital administrators should ensure that the hospital environment is conducive for medical attention. Factors such as poor lighting, noise, clutter, and heat distract the caregivers and reduce their concentration capacities during their line of duty (Batch, & Vanderveen, 2016). Therefore, the location of a hospital should be away from distractions. A favorable environment ensures error-free medical attention.
Improved communication among caregivers within the health facility reduces the incidences of medication errors. Indirect communication confuses caregivers as the messenger can omit essential information from the primary source (Schiff et al., 2015). Therefore, the care providers should stick to direct communication to prevent clinical mistakes. Strategies such as automatic patient’s information reduce medication errors. Thus, health organizations should improve the channels of communications to ensure error-free treatment to the patients.
Health facilities should decrease the overreliance on vigilance as a remedy for medication errors. The urge to prevent medication errors can distract the clinicians and prevent them from conducting other essential duties (Maaskant et al., 2015). Strict supervision on the activities of nurses can make them panic and commit more mistakes. Therefore, the hospital administrators should be fair when supervising the caregivers at the health facilities. Overreliance on vigilance increases medication errors.
Safety training is an essential remedy that minimizes the clinical mistakes. The practice acts as a guide for nurses when they face a medical dilemma. Nurses also require additional education on the types of errors and how to avoid the mistakes (Schiff et al., 2015). The hospital administrators should conduct regular training to sharpen the skills of healthcare practitioners. Therefore, safety training acts as an inhibitor of errors and tool for adequate medical attention.
A health facility should recruit the right candidates for defined roles in the health organization. For example, the facility should not recruit oncologists to attend to patients with high blood pressure. Furthermore, the hospital administrator should ensure that the staff members have relevant work experience in the various fields. Adequate knowledge and skills prevent the occurrence of clinical mistakes in health facilities (Maaskant et al., 2015). Therefore, a thorough vetting is necessary to ensure that qualified nurses work at the health facility.
Health stakeholders should encourage the involvement of patients and their family members in treatment. Caregivers should train the clients on the methods of medication and help them to provide input in the course of therapy (Schiff et al., 2015). Adequate exposure enables the patients to detect a medication error and assist in preventing it. Therefore, every individual should participate in the health care system to avoid medication errors.
Conclusion
A majority of hospitals in the USA have been enquiring about the solution to medication errors. The errors can occur due to wrong dosage or wrong timing of drug intake among patients. The mistakes are also rampant during drug administration where a caregiver can apply intravenous means instead of an intramuscular method and vice versa. The essay has analyzed and synthesized three peer-reviewed that provide solutions to the clinical errors. The sources have credible information, and health facilities should apply the knowledge to minimize the mistakes. The first solution is to mitigate the hand-offs and simplify the medication process. Hospitals should also standardize their methods of operations. The computerization of the healthcare system also decreases the mistakes. Health facilities should improve the caregivers’ assess to relevant information. The application of constraints also reduces clinical errors in the health sectors. The paper also discusses the remaining remedies for medication errors.
References
Batch, R. M., & Vanderveen, T. W. (2016). U.S. Patent No. 9,427,520. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Maaskant, J. M., Vermeulen, H., Apampa, B., Fernando, B., Ghaleb, M. A., Neubert, A., … & Soe, A. (2015). Interventions for reducing medication errors in children in the hospital. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (3).
Schiff, G. D., Amato, M. G., Eguale, T., Boehne, J. J., Wright, A., Koppel, R., … & Bates, D. W. (2015). Computerised physician order entry-related medication errors: analysis of reported errors and vulnerability testing of current systems. BMJ Qual Saf, 24(4), 264-271.
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