Pharmaceutical mistakes are risky due to the volume and sophistication of medication delivery, and these errors have a high financial and human cost on the American healthcare system. There are various steps involved in the distribution of medications. During the distribution stage of pharmaceutical distribution, one-third of all medication mistakes take place. Nurses must be aware of the difficulties they encounter while giving patients medicine (Booth et al., 2017). Clinicians are in an excellent position to avoid pharmaceutical mistakes since they often deliver drugs (Durham, 2015). Caregivers need to be ready to spot mistakes made not just by themselves but also by doctors, pharmacies, and other people involved in the chain of medicine delivery.
Mistakes in the prescription of drugs are underrepresented and misunderstood. The reasons for underrepresentation include not being conscious that a medical error has happened, not being knowledgeable about the procedures for reporting drug administration errors, being afraid of the consequences on the legal front, and being worried about being seen as inept. Precise definitions of medication mistakes and near-miss incidents, as well as a way to identify relevant elements like understaffing and environmental elements, should be included in processes and procedures for identifying adverse drug reactions (Docherty-Skippen et al., 2019). A practical and user-friendly system for tracking and assessing drug mistakes should be put in place.
Numerous resources, including thorough drug guides, are accessible if the nurse is unsure about a particular medicine. Medication computerized databases are frequently seen in hospitals. Users of smartphones may look up information about new drugs using drug reference apps. An online course or local community university professional learning program can help a nurse improve their knowledge of pharmacokinetic properties. Nurses have a responsibility to the patient to fully understand the activities, indications, safe dose ranges, side effects, monitoring requirements, and nursing consequences of any prescription they deliver.
References
Booth, R. G., Sinclair, B., Strudwick, G., Brennan, L., Morgan, L., Collings, S., Singh, C. (2017). Deconstructing clinical workflow: identifying teaching-learning principles for barcode electronic medication administration with nursing students. Nurse Educator, 42(5), 267-271. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000361
Docherty-Skippen, S. M., Hansen, A., & Engel, J. (2019). Teaching and assessment strategies for nursing self-care competencies in Ontario’s nursing education programs. Nurse Education in Practice, 36, 108-113.
Durham, B. (2015). The nurse’s role in medication safety. Nursing, 45(4), 1-4. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000461850.24153.8b