NURS FPX 4035 Assignment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety

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Capella university

NURS-FPX4035 Enhancing Patient Safety and Quality of Care

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Enhancing Quality and Safety

Using and giving the right medications to patients is important when healthcare teams deal with several drugs simultaneously. Such mistakes add extra time before treatment, cause problems for the patient, or raise the healthcare bill (Tariq et al., 2024). This paper looks into issues with Medication Errors (MEs) during clinical care by analyzing their causes, the evidence that supports them, and the measures that can be used to increase safety. It makes it clear that good teamwork and communication among nurses strive to avoid errors in care. The roles of the main stakeholders in preventing medication problems are also considered, based on solid research.

Contributing Factors to Medication Errors in Healthcare

Many unintentional MEs in treating people with medicine can be life-threatening. A big problem is that healthcare providers have ineffective ways of sharing information. Because things happen so fast in healthcare settings, poor organization and divided medical records can lead to ordering too much medicine, skipping some medicines ordered, or giving the same medicine twice by mistake. In the United States, avoidable MEs result in approximately 44,000 to 98,000 inpatient fatalities each year. MEs are believed to generate between 37.6 and 50 billion dollars in extra medical expenses, disabilities, and decreased workforce efficiency (Tariq et al., 2024).

In certain cases, if the history of medicines taken by a patient is not complete, medical staff might accidentally prescribe treatments that can interfere negatively or could be unnecessary. A further important factor is that today’s medications are more complex. Many people who deal with long-term illnesses have to take a number of drugs. Managing them calls for an exact understanding of which drugs react, what side effects can occur, and how much each drug should be given. A lack of time, lots of work to do, and a shortage of staff can increase the possibility of missing out on vital details in medicating patients.

Human mental biases have a part in explaining the Buying Decision Process. If someone feels tired, has many tasks to do, or depends on their memory a lot, they might select the wrong medication, give the wrong medication amount, or choose an inappropriate way to give it. People with years of experience can also make mistakes when following protocols is ignored, and if they do not use automated tools correctly. In addition, not keeping up with the latest changes in medicines and procedures leads to mistakes. Should healthcare providers not update their knowledge regularly, they might not learn vital news about safe medicine usage, which could cause harm to the institution’s reputation and patient care (Brabcová et al., 2023).

Ways to Enhance Patient Safety and Reduce Costs Related to Medication Errors

Patient safety and reducing mistakes in medication can be achieved by using strategies based on research, highlighting better communication, using shared resources for making decisions, and ongoing education. It is important to set up a Medication Decision Support System (MDSS). Having these systems in the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) enables healthcare professionals to receive live notifications and reminders to guide them in safe prescribing. MDSS has on-site guidelines, identifies possible drug-to-drug conflicts, and reminds health workers to ensure accurate documentation of patient medicines.

It is also important to ensure that everyone follows standard medicine procedures (Syrowatka et al., 2024). Because of evidence-based checklists and clinical pathways, healthcare professionals are able to handle medications consistently in line with the best practices. Following the same practices helps ensure correct administration, decreases inconsistency in treatment, and reduces blunders. According to research done by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, following standard rules for care helps patients and decreases unnecessary expenses (AHRQ, 2024).

Moreover, keeping up with education and repeated training sessions is important to lower the risk of MEs. They make sure professionals remain updated on new drugs, safer procedures, and the latest technology in the healthcare field. Due to more education, patients are protected from the risks of MEs in their treatment while also reducing expenses tied to such mistakes. Collaborating on different concepts results in safer ways of working (Brabcová et al., 2023).

Nursing Role in Medication Safety and Cost Reduction

Nurses help ensure the safety of medicines and also help lower healthcare expenses. Since they are key members of the healthcare group, nurses prevent many MEs by coordinating closely with fellow team members and sticking up for patients. They contribute a lot to the success of communication. Accurate medication records are gathered by nurses, doctors’ instructions are reviewed, and patients learn from them how to take their medication properly.

Doing this keeps mistakes from happening as a result of wrong expectations. When nurses, patients, and healthcare team members communicate properly, it benefits drug safety inside the hospital. Nurses communicate essential details such as any allergies, negative drug experiences before, and people’s worries about taking various drugs. Should a patient share non-normal symptoms, nurses should notify the provider right away, which allows the provider to review the treatment and avoid further issues (Flaubert, 2021).

Nurses are also tasked with keeping an eye on the results of patients’ medicines. They keep an eye on patients following certain treatments, notice early symptoms of adverse reactions, and make sure to test for potential consequences in the lab. So, if lab results suggest drug adjustments are needed, nurses can plan the actions properly to keep risks low and stop the patient from being readmitted to the hospital. Nurses following best practices and guidelines can actively work for safer use of medicines (Flaubert, 2021). Their active efforts encourage teamwork, which benefits patients by ensuring they receive proper care with no unnecessary treatments and lower costs.

Stakeholders’ Involvement in Enhancing Medication Safety

For MEs to be addressed, nurses team up with other healthcare workers to boost safety and quality of care. The important groups include physicians, pharmacists, healthcare administrators, patients, and those who work in Information Technology (IT). It is essential for every group to contribute to ensuring safe medication practices throughout the care process. It is important for physicians to make sure medications are given according to proper orders. Nurses confirm the prescriptions given, explain any unclear instructions, and mention any nasty reactions or worries the patient might have. Working together makes certain that medicine is distributed correctly according to best health care practices (Ravi et al., 2022).

Pharmacists form an essential part of the group. They rely on nurses to find out correct dosages, look for drug reactions, and know the possible adverse effects. When healthcare staff communicate well, the chance of MEs is lowered, mainly for patients handling several medications. In addition, with the help of EHR and medication alerts, nurses supported by IT personnel are equipped to find and avoid MEs as they happen. Healthcare administrators make sure that medication safety is the top priority in the workplace.

Nurses can suggest that medication safety technologies be adopted, for example, barcoding and automated dispensing. Also, they team up with managers to explore available training and always keep up with updates in drug policies and safety. Above all, patients are the most important players. Nurses teach patients about their medicine, invite them to ask any questions, and help them stick to the proper schedule. When patients are informed about their treatment, they are less likely to make mistakes and are more involved in managing their own care. With the team effort, medication safety can be highlighted, errors can be controlled, and healthcare expenditures can decrease (Ravi et al., 2022). 

Conclusion

All in all, using the wrong medication puts patients at risk and raises healthcare expenses. Dealing with these errors calls for everyone to communicate well, follow set rules, and keep learning new things. Nurses are important in safeguarding medication use by cooperating with the healthcare team and encouraging patients’ participation. Together, all parties can boost safety in taking drugs, benefit patients’ health, and cut out undesirable expenditures. Using these strategies in the right way helps to ensure the best and most secure care at the lowest costs.

References

AHRQ. (2024). Agency for healthcare research & quality. AHRQ.gov; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. https://www.ahrq.gov/ 

Brabcová, I., Hajduchová, H., Tóthová, V., Chloubová, I., Červený, M., Prokešová, R., Malý, J., Vlček, J., Doseděl, M., Ládová, K. M., Tesař, O., & O’Hara, S. (2023). Reasons for medication administration errors, barriers to reporting them and the number of reported medication administration errors from the perspective of nurses: A cross-sectional survey. Nurse Education in Practice, 70(1), 103642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2023.103642 

NURS FPX 4035 Assignment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety

Flaubert, J. (2021). The role of nurses in improving health care access and quality. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573910/ 

Ravi, P., Pfaff, K., Ralph, J., Cruz, E., Bellaire, M., & Fontanin, G. (2022). Nurse-pharmacist collaborations for promoting medication safety among community-dwelling adults: A scoping review. International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 4(4), 100079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnsa.2022.100079 

Syrowatka, A., Motala, A., Lawson, E., & Shekelle, P. (2024, February). Computerized clinical decision support to prevent medication errors and adverse drug events: Rapid review. PubMed; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK600580/ 

Tariq, R., Scherbak, Y., Vashisht, R., & Sinha, A. (2024, February 12). Medication dispensing errors and prevention. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519065/ 

NURS FPX 4035 Assignment 1 Enhancing Quality and Safety