Steps to take in preventing medications errors. Please include references

Adverse medication events are risky to patients’ health, and therefore minimizing these events is beneficial to the quality of services being offered. Here are key steps to take to prevent medication errors, along with references to support these strategies:

 1. Implementing Standardized Procedures

 Description: Ensure that specific policies and guidelines are set down and also strictly followed in handling drugs especially in the process of administering drug to patients. The five right medication administration are: The right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right route and the right time.

 Impact: Standardization adds up to the reduction of errors because within each standard procedure, little variation is practiced, and all practices follow a set baseline.

 Reference:

 ISMP or Institute for Safe Medication Practices. (2020). Some of the abbreviations identified on the ISMP List of Dangerous Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols. ISMP. The focus in this resource is on the issue of standardization to fight medication errors.

 2. Enhancing Communication

 Description: Enhance effective and efficient relaying information across the various caregivers in regard to medication orders and alterations. Employ formality in documentation, especially where there are changes in tasks to be performed; utilize hand off tools, where necessary.

 Impact: Information exchange minimizes chances of assumptions that are likely to result in medication mistakes.

 Reference:

 United States Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2019). Communication skills between the healthcare providers: Best practices. AHRQ. The current publication outlines the measures of improving interpersonal communication and minimising medical mistakes.

 3. Utilizing Technology

 Description: Electron Health Record (EHRs) and integrated Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) to eliminate possibilities of the error due to doing many writings and transcription work. Utilize the bar code medication administration systems in order to assure giving the correct medication.

 Impact: It can diminish mistakes because technology may eliminate or minimize human involvement in the processes, and enhance the cultures of medical accuracy in prescribing medications.

 Reference:

 Bates, D. W. , & Gawande, A. A. ( 2003) Enhancing safety through IT: the case of PeeM. Ne Journal of Med 348, 2526-2534. The role of technology, particularly EHRs and CPOE in reducing medication errors is described in this article.

 4. The fifth strategic initiative is offeringincessant education and training.

 Description: Continuously provide awareness sessions for the healthcare staff with regard to the rights of medication administration, interactions and emerging safety measures. Listing 3: Special content areas as part of pharmacists’ continuing education To learn more about medication errors and how to minimize them, special areas of content should be added to the CE include;.

 Impact: Ample training makes the staff knowledgeable with the general practices, and they are informed of various errors made in handling the medications.

 Reference:

 National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP). (2019). Also, prevention measures regarding medication errors consist of the following. NCC MERP. They like to break down the issue into various subtopics, such as the following one which is focused on the need for continual staff development to minimise medication errors.

 5. Promoting the Organizational Culture for Safety

 Description: Ensure staff does not fear being punished if they report that they have compounded a medication error or even if they report that they almost made an error. Report and document errors with a view of identifying them and analyzing them to avoid repeating them in future.

 Impact: A culture supportive of Practice involves giving support towards the reporting of errors and an improved processing of medication safety.

 Reference:

 Leape, L. L. & Berwick, D. M, (2005). Five Years After To Err Is Human: Underlying the above facts are many lessons which may be summarized as follows:- Journal of the American Medical Association, 293 no. 19. pp. 2384-2390. This article brings an understanding on the need to design a culture of safety in healthcare facilities to deal with medication errors.

 Summary

 Medication errors prevention is achieved through the establishment of protocols, improvement of verbal and written communication, use of technology, continuing education, and training of health care staff as well as creating a culture of safety. These steps help in reducing the risk to patients associated with medication administration as well as enhancing patient’s results.

 References:

 They include the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). (2020). List of Dangerous Abbreviations, Acronyms and Symbols from the ISMP. ISMP.

 Part of United States Department of Health & Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (2019). Communication plans between health care providers: best practices. AHRQ.

 By Bates and Gawande, 2003, Bates and Gawande have outlined the following. The Next Big Thing in Information Technology in the Health Care Industry: Improving Safety. New England Journal of Medicine , 348, 2526–2534.

 National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention – NCC MERP. (2019). The Methods that can be implemented to Minimise Medication Mistakes. NCC MERP.

 What is the value of routine patient-safety-related full report? Leape, L. L. , & Berwick, D. M. Five Years After To Err Is Human: And Finally: What Have We Learned? JAMA, 293(19), 2384-2390.