Errors Related to Medication and Injury towards Patients

Clinical Question 

Problem 

The issue being addressed relates to the errors and severe patient outcomes that might arise from the administration of medication by nurses. More specifically the paper seeks to assess the different errors that relate to the medication and injury of patients, which is a provision that constitutes the need to enhance patient safety.

The significance of problem in terms of outcomes or statistics 

Caroline Kavanagh (2017) identifies medication errors as one of the major causes of patient harm in the provision of healthcare services. She refers to the definition by the National Patient Safety Agency to indicate that medication errors include incidences characterized mistakes made during the process of “…prescribing, dispensing, preparing, administering, monitoring, or providing medicines advice, regardless of whether any harm occurred or was possible (Kavanagh, 2017, p. 159). This description provides that the cost of errors is significant for both the patient and the practitioners. In this light, numerous consequences can be caused by medication errors. The consequences include the aspect that the patient can stay longer in the hospital while receiving treatment, increased care costs, possible litigation, and an increase in the patient's morbidity and mortality (Kavanagh, 2017). These provisions call for the need to reduce the medication errors through a collaborative approach among different health professionals.

PICOT Question 

In all cases that the nurses reported having committed medication errors, how effective are the medication administration units that have simulation check-offs, compared to the medication administration units that do not have simulation check-offs, in increasing the competence and reducing the occurrence of medication errors?

Purpose 

The purpose of the paper relates to the identification of the practical ways that can be used to improve and increase the competency of nurses that are involved in administering medication to reduce errors and patient injury. Enhancing their skill is informed by the need to ensure proper patient outcomes. Additionally, the paper seeks to determine the manner in which a healthcare facility can come up with a plan that would encourage nurses to report medication errors without fearing being sanctioned by the employer.

Levels of Evidence 

Type of question asked 

The question is a PICOT question, whose population includes nurses in a healthcare facility. The intervention consists of the medication administration units that have simulation check-off, whereas the comparison relates to the medication administration units that do not have simulation check-off. The expected outcome that the question addresses is in line with the idea that healthcare facilities with increased competencies and small medication errors can enable the improvement of patient outcomes (Walters, 2015).

Best evidence found to answer the question 

The best evidence that can be used to answer this question can be derived from quantitative as well as qualitative studies. During the data collection process, an essential factor to consider would involve medication reconciliation of the medication errors, mainly when a patient is being transferred from one setting to another setting to receive care.

Search strategy 

The search terms considered for determining the most appropriate to identify the sources that could be used include medication error and simulation check off.

Databases used 

The databases selected to derive the sources used include the school database and Google scholar.

Refinement decisions 

The refinement decisions considered focus on specific aspects of the study, which emphasize on the consequences of medication errors and injury on patient outcomes, based on the provisions of medication administration units and the availability of simulation check-off.

Relevance of sources 

The relevance of the sources used was based on the best evidence that could assist in identifying how different settings within a healthcare facility can prevent or enhance the significance of medication errors.

The primary purpose of the paper was to identify the practical ways that can be used to improve and increase the competence of nurses administering medication to reduce errors and patient injury. This purpose addresses the problem related to the errors and serious and unwarranted patient outcomes that might arise from the administration of medication by nurses. In this light, the two sources were relevant regarding the potential identification of issues that might emanate from medication errors as well as the support systems needed to reduce the occurrence. Improving nurse competence was identified as one of the potential solutions to reducing medication errors.

References

Kavanagh, C. (2017). Medication governance: preventing errors and promoting patient safety.  British Journal of Nursing ,  26 (3), 159-165. doi: 10.12968/bjon.2017.26.3.159

Walters, Q. (2015).  Simulation and Educational Strategies to Decrease the Incidence of Medication Errors in a Small Rural Acute Care Hospital (Ph.D.). The University of Southern Mississippi.