One of the reasons behind the lack of effectiveness is not having enough -- or the right -- measures available to nurses in the ICU (Pape, 2013). Another reason that effectiveness is lacking when it comes to preventing medication errors is that people make mistakes (Crigger & Godfrey, 2014)
Often, this comes in the form of things like self-dispensing medication drawers and other advanced products. These dispense only the right medications, making errors less likely to happen -- provided the information on what medications are needed by that patient has been properly input into the machine previously (Elliott, Page, & Worrall-Carter, 2012; Helmons, Dalton, & Daniels, 2012)
, 2011). The best way for most ICUs to do this is to utilize technology that helps reduce errors and protect patients (Frith, et al
Medication Errors in an ICU Unit Medication Errors -- Including Look-Alike and Sound-Alike Drugs -- in an ICU Unit Medication errors can and do occur in the ICU unit, and they often come from look-alike and sound-alike medications that can easily get mixed up. When a nurse or other health care professional gives a medication to a patient, that professional should be absolutely certain the medication is the right one, and in the right dosage (Helmons, Dalton, & Daniels, 2012)
It is a human problem, and that part of it is very hard to overcome. Because there is no real way to take the human element out of the equation, and because people are fallible and can make accidental errors, ICUs need to consider other ways of avoiding the medication error problem (Kiekkas, et al
Either way, that is an alarming number of people who die every year because medical personnel make mistakes with medication. More and more hospitals, and their patients, are finding these kinds of numbers unacceptable and insisting that changes are made and something is done in order to improve the quality of care patients in the ICU are receiving (Pak & Park, 2012)
There are measures that are taken to avoid these things, but they are not always effective. One of the reasons behind the lack of effectiveness is not having enough -- or the right -- measures available to nurses in the ICU (Pape, 2013)
Look alike and sound alike medicines, solutions Some of the solutions discussed by Emmerton & Rizk have seen successful practical application. "Workflow practices and technological solutions include physical alerts about the confusable products on shelves, automated alerts in dispensing software, barcode scanners integrated into dispensing, and facilitated reporting systems" (Emmerton & Rizk, 2011, p
"The presence of multiple similarly named medications in close proximity to a target medication increases the difficulty of the visual search for the target. Tall Man lettering has no impact on this adverse effect" (Irwin, Mearns, Watson & Urquhart, 2012, p
It can be pre-filled and allows more time for medical personnel to check if the medication is properly dosed and is the correct medication for the patient. "A medication dispenser is a device that delivers medication to the patient according to predetermined schedules; it is considered a very efficient device of improving medication adherence" (Pak & Park, 2012, p
Five Part Intervention, does it decrease omitted medications? Even though new technology exists, software, like smart pumps that control dosing, there are still other facets to the problem of medication errors. "Nursing administrators reported that medication administration errors had continued despite the use of bar code medication administration, especially in terms of omitted medications"(Pape, 2013, p
It's a solution that uses new and innovative software, reducing human error. Other solutions involve recommendations like: "national recommendations for injectable medicines and the promotion of drug concentration standardization" (Upton & Quinn, 2013, p
One must be aware of medication movement within the body, in addition to its effects and likely side effects. Patients must only alter medication dosage after consulting with their physician (Krucik, 2013)
One must be aware of medication movement within the body, in addition to its effects and likely side effects. Patients must only alter medication dosage after consulting with their physician (Krucik, 2013)
every 8 hours) to q12 (i.e. every 12 hours) (Pickar & Abernethy, 2014)
Some of the most significant public health related advances in genomics and genetics include genetic testing, gene therapy, and genotyping and genetic sequencing. These advances have and are expected to continue making considerable improvements on diagnostic and interventional medicine (Huston, 2013)
Since medication errors have become common in today's health care setting, various measures have been adopted to prevent them. There are measures for tracking medication errors, drug safety, or prescription drug abuse including error-reporting systems, computerized systems, and prescription charts (Velo & Minuz, 2009, p
Moreover, healthcare organizations should enhance nurse's knowledge about diverse ethical groups to enhance effective cross-cultural practice. (Hughes, 2008)