In clinical settings, the role of medication preparation and administration falls in the hands of nurses. According to a study by Benjamin et al., (2017), pediatric patients in the emergency department are at a higher risk of medication errors for a variety of reasons. According to the study, medication errors are the most common type of medical error in hospitalized patients and also occur three times more for pediatric patients than adults. The emergency department has been described as a setting that accelerates medical errors through the number of medically complex patients, verbal orders, and a hectic environment with many orders.
The conclusions for improvement were determined by a multi-disciplinary expert panel that was convened by the Emergency Medical Services for Children program to find ways of minimizing emergency department medical errors. To get an overview of the problem and preventive measures, the panel included emergency care providers, pharmacists, nurses, patient safety organization leaders, and health record industry representatives. The panel collectively developed policies and adopted best practices that would be used to reduce medical errors. The best practices proposed to improve pediatric medication include computerized physician order entry for prescription and monitoring and double-checking in the emergency department, Standardized formulary including medication dosage guidelines and labeling of prescriptions, and introducing emergency department pharmacists to verify and prepare high-risk medications.
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A best practice is generally the accepted means of dealing with a phenomenon that is superior to other alternatives as it produces feasible results compared to the alternative measures used. Best practices are used to maintain quality and therefore, can be used for self-assessment or benchmarking. Best practice involves quality services provided beyond practice based on evidence. Traditionally, nursing practice was founded on the apprenticeship where nurses learned to nurse in a manner that reflected nurses on duty (Ellis, 2019). Best practices represent appropriate care which is deemed optimal based on prevailing standards or point of view. Best practices in nursing are specific and help guide nurses to identify solutions to problems and patient needs. Best practices in the nursing domain can be categorized into four domains; “educational, administrative, clinical, and theoretical” (Nelson, 2014). There is a continued need to analyze the concept of best practice to distinguish it from related concepts. An analysis of the term is also needed to expand people’s understanding of the relative meaning of the term across different disciplines.
The findings of the study support the conclusion as analysis of underlying conditions suggests a prevalence of medical errors in the emergency department and in particular happening more in children than adults. The researchers found this a growing issue of concern and convened a panel to brainstorm and come up with best practices for minimizing the rate of medical errors in the emergency department. The conclusion of the study by Benjamin et al., provide suggestions for best practices which can be implemented in the emergency department to minimize medical errors. I would argue that the recommended measures are best practices given they border on administrative and clinical improvements to reduce medical errors.
The proposed measures qualify as best practices given they introduce new and effective ways of reducing medical errors such as recommending medication dosage guidelines, labeling, and administration guidelines. A computerized system of physician order entry is a feasible solution that prevents errors through documenting all pediatric patients’ information and making appropriate calculations for dosage reducing underdosing or overdosing. The introduction of an emergency department pharmacist to aid in dispensing medicine for high-risk pediatric patients and verification and preparation of medicine for patients reduces instances of medical errors. These measures are essential in reducing all instances of medical errors and are therefore feasible best practices a healthcare facility can adapt.
References
Ellis, P., (2019). Evidence-based practice in nursing . Learning Matters.
Benjamin, L., Frush, K., Shaw, K., Shook, J. E., Snow, S. K., Wright, J., ... & Lane, N. (2018). Pediatric medication safety in the emergency department. Annals of emergency medicine , 71 (3), e17-e24.
Nelson, A. M. (2014). Best practice in nursing: A concept analysis. International journal of nursing studies , 51 (11), 1507-1516.
