Sound policy and practice guidelines for managing medication errors are critical for a premier medical center such as Mercy Medical Center. To successfully implement the policy on managing medication errors, members of the nursing staff at the medical center responsible for enacting the policy must thoroughly understand the strategies prescribed by the policy. A training program designed for staff members will ensure effective dissemination of the knowledge and skills required to implement the policy guidelines. The training program outlined in this paper will be conducted for a pilot group of 20 nursing staff members from the pediatric medical center’s pediatric division.
Policy on Management of Medication Errors Policy Guidelines and Strategies
The policy on managing medication errors states the procedure that must be followed in case of a medication error. The scope of the policy extends to the nursing, emergency care, and medical staff employed at Mercy Medical Center (Black County Partnership, 2015). The policy requires that the medical center form a multidisciplinary committee. This committee will assess potential discrepancies and address shortfalls in medication processes (Weant et al., 2014).
The strategies to be implemented at the medical center include installing automated dispensing cabinets and setting up a standardized medication error analysis system. To set up a standardized medication error analysis system, the multidisciplinary committee should classify, prioritize, and regularize the process of reporting medication errors. Understanding the causes of medication errors through medication error analysis becomes simpler with the availability of accurate data.
Automated dispensing cabinets are computerized systems for medication management and are installed in healthcare units. These cabinets are used to manage errors that occur when dispensing medication. The cabinets store and dispense medication and electronically track drug inventory (Weant et al., 2014).
Significance of the Policy
Medication errors are indicative of poor-quality healthcare services in a medical center. The proposed policy can prevent medication errors, ensure patient safety, help the medical center avoid litigation for medical negligence, prevent harm to the medical center’s reputation, and reduce unnecessary expenses (Black County Partnership, 2015). This will increase the efficiency of the nursing staff, thereby decreasing the effort and time spent on medication procedures. Less time spent and more efficiency would increase the job satisfaction of the members of the nursing staff.
Early Indicators of Success
Three types of indicators can project the success of the policy at an early stage: structural indicators, process indicators, and outcome indicators. Structural indicators emphasize the quality of organizational aspects, for example, the availability and effective functioning of equipment such as automated dispensing cabinets. Process indicators focus on the process of care delivery. Efficiency in prescription management and diagnosis management are two process indicators that measure the effectiveness of the policy. Outcome indicators are result oriented.
Reduction in readmission rates, reduction in postsurgical wound infection rates, and patient experience are a few outcome indicators that can measure the success of the policy (Grol et al., 2013).
Concerns Over the Policy
The pilot group selected will be trained on the two strategies: installation and use of automated dispensing cabinets and standardized medication error analysis. Staff members could be apprehensive about reporting errors considering the degree of fatality of the error and the disciplinary action as a consequence of underreporting (Chu, 2016). Such apprehension may cause the nursing staff to object to the establishment of a standardized system for medication error analysis. Implementing the second strategy, the installation of automated dispensing cabinets would be beneficial for medication management and prevention of errors; however, automated dispensing cabinets can potentially cause errors in medication retrieval in case of mismanagement of medical inventory (Weant et al., 2014). This could be a potential concern for the nursing staff.
Nursing Staff and Management of Medication Errors Role of Nursing Staff in Policy Implementation
Nursing staff plays an essential role in the implementation of a medication error management policy because of their proximity to patients and medication processes. A nurse is the last person involved in the administering of drugs. A nurse is responsible for physically administering the right drug to a patient and can, therefore, easily identify and correct any e
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