Medication errors are among the major causes of preventable deaths both in America and around the globe. Medical errors occur in many healthcare settings, such as patients’ homes, nursing homes, surgery centers, hospitals, pharmacies, and medical offices. The main causes of medical errors include communication problems, insufficient information flow, human-related problems, patient-related factors, inadequate staffing, ineffective policies, and technical failures. Studying these errors and learning how to react, prevent, and monitor them successfully is a major step in improving the quality and standard of care. I experienced a medication error as a patient, leading to a light allergic reaction. Hence, as a student, I understand how important it is to understand the nature of medication errors and seek ways to minimize them. This paper examines the main causes of medical errors, primarily emphasizing how we can manage and control them effectively.
Hoover, R. (2017). Benefits of using an electronic health record. Nursing2020 Critical Care, 12(1), 9-10.
Electronic Health Records contribute to the minimization of medication errors. In the study of the benefits of electronic health records, Hoover (2017) contends that a primary challenge, which has been causing medication errors in hospitals, has been the illegibility resulting from poor handwriting, which general practitioners are known for. According to a study that was retrieved, Robins found out that a particular source of medication errors in hospitals was the effect of poor handwriting, which made comprehending medical form information difficult. Therefore, given that electronic health records keep patient information in soft copy, this is a notable area that can be significantly improved by implementing EHR, ’s in clinical setups.
Lastly, Hoover (2017) adds that the practice of managing patients while using electronic health records improves clinical results with time. The researcher justifies this on-premise that some electronic health records are developed with the capability to integrate with the bar code scanning technology. Hence, if a nurse scans the wrong medication, an alert is made to notify her of the oversight. The study is relevant to the research as technological advancements such as HER allow to minimize the occurrence of MEs.
Di Simone, E., Giannetta, N., Auddino, F., Cicotto, A., Grilli, D., & Di Muzio, M. (2018). Medication errors in the emergency department: knowledge, attitude, behavior, and training needs of nurses. Indian journal of critical care medicine: peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 22(5), 346.
The study aimed to describe key factors that could prevent medication errors in the emergency department. Most of the sample (94%) said that the basic course included themes related to the preparation and administration of IV drugs; however, the post-basic course only covered 63.2% of these topics. Only 15.6% of nurses thought their level of knowledge regarding the preparation and administration of IV medications was excellent, while 89.3% thought it was important to increase their knowledge; 85.6% thought that the amount of time spent teaching about the use of IV medications during their degree program should increase, and 30.3% thought that postgraduate courses specifically on the use of IV drugs should be created. Additionally, just 22% of the sample agreed that training to recruit nurses is essential to preventing mistakes. The study is relevant to the research as it shows the effect of training on nurses in emergency department, where medication errors may determine patient outcomes.
Jember, A., Hailu, M., Messele, A., Demeke, T., & Hassen, M. (2018). The proportion of medication error reporting and associated factors among nurses: a cross-sectional study. BMC nursing, 17(1), 1-8.
To understand the scope and impact of MEs, voluntary reporting is essential. The study concentrated on the reported rates of MEs and the variables affecting those reported rates. The study participants were chosen using a stratified sample strategy followed by a random sampling technique. Structured self-administered questionnaires from studies in Jordan and Australia were used to collect the data. In this study, reporting medication errors was substantially correlated with nurses’ ME experience. Nurses who had previously made MEs were 57.4% less likely to report mistake events than nurses who had never made MEs, and nurses who had previously experienced MEs and their reporting processes for errors made by others were 55.5% less likely to report error incidents. The study is relevant to the research as it identified interesting correlation between nurses’ experience and likelihood of ME’s report. Such finding is useful in developing strategies and training programs that minimize MEs.
Samundeeswari, A. & Muthamilselvi, G. (2018). Nurses’ Knowledge on Prevention of Medication Error. Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research, 6(3), 269-274.
The study investigated the role of education and training in medication error prevention. Nurses are particularly attentive while giving the right medication dosage to the right patient at the right time. A good working relationship between the doctor, nurses, and pharmacist will reduce drug errors by at least 85%. The procedure for reporting medication errors and the necessity of turning on the reporting system in hospitals should be known to nurses. Lack of understanding of reporting procedures and the accessibility or availability of reporting platforms are the main causes of underreporting pharmaceutical errors. Nurses and other healthcare staff need ongoing education and training concerning drug and reporting errors. The study is relevant to the topic as it investigates how nurses’ training and education effect the prevalence of MEs.
Given the above discussion, this study has investigated the phenomenon of medication errors and factors that contribute to it and ways to minimize it. It was identified that learning and technology are essential in minimizing medical errors. In addition, training strategies should focus on the experienced nurses as they are less likely to report MEs. In general, more studies need to be conducted to investigate how various hospitals in the country disclose and report cases of medical errors since it is established that fear of litigation affects disclosure.
References
Di Simone, E., Giannetta, N., Auddino, F., Cicotto, A., Grilli, D., & Di Muzio, M. (2018). Medication errors in the emergency department: knowledge, attitude, behavior, and training needs of nurses. Indian journal of critical care medicine: peer-reviewed, official publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 22(5), 346.
Hoover, R. (2017). Benefits of using an electronic health record. Nursing2020 Critical Care, 12(1), 9-10.
Jember, A., Hailu, M., Messele, A., Demeke, T., & Hassen, M. (2018). Proportion of medication error reporting and associated factors among nurses: a cross sectional study. BMC nursing, 17(1), 1-8.
Samundeeswari, A. & Muthamilselvi, G. (2018). Nurses Knowledge on Prevention of Medication Error. Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research, 6(3), 269-274.
