Hospice of Palm Beach County

Hospice of Palm Beach County

Research Proposal

The National Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention is an organization that was developed with the sole purpose of increasing awareness of Medication errors. The NCC MERP's mission:

"Is to maximize the safe use of medications and to increase awareness of medication errors through open communication, increased reporting and promotion of medication error prevention strategies."

The goals of NCC MERP's is to foster the advancement and communicate information and appraise systems by single HSO's; to foster sending information to the national system for review, examination and augmentation of counsel to decrease and eventually stop medication errors; appraise and analyze the causation of medication mistakes; accumulate knowledge of the cause of medication errors and means of stopping this from happening in the health care system (National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, 1998).

Literature Review

Documentation can have a major impact on research in the hospice setting because of the fact that most patients in Hospice have a short life expectancy. Documentation is also very critical in the promotion of high quality care delivery. Mistakes in documentation can lead to medical mistakes. One of the nation's foremost causes of morbidity and injury are medical errors. A current report, done by the Institute of Medicine, estimated that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 deaths in the U.S. occur in medical settings each year because of medical mistakes. This report indicates that more people pass away from medical mistakes than from car accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. Medical errors happen anyway within the health care system. Places include Nursing homes, hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, and many other places. These medical errors may be associated with medicines, determinates, medical procedures, equipment, and lab reports. The Institute of Medicine wrote a publication highlighting on the prevalent deaths related to medical errors in hospitals. They specifically highlighted on medication errors within such settings, in which they suggested that one of these errors might occur to one patient per day. Patients are regularly transferred from hospital to a hospice setting and between the processes of transferring the patients; they are vulnerable to medication errors.

Hospice of Palm Beach County is a not-for-profit organization, which was founded in 1978. This company provides care for anyone in need, no matter their insurance or financial circumstance. They have many highly trained employees and caring volunteers who work to make this program excel. Hospice uses a special approach in caring for people who come to them. Hospice care is comfort-oriented. They specifically care for the terminally ill patients and their method of caring stresses palliative care. Palliative care is the relief of pain and uncomfortable symptoms. Hospice takes care of the patient and also provides services for the patients' family. They address issues pertaining to physical, psychosocial, emotional, spiritual, and bereavement needs of the family and/or caregiver of the patient. The University of Iowa did a recent study, funded by the National Cancer Institute. This study was about promoting evidence-based practices in ...