Medication errors

It is noteworthy that, in the United States, the number of patients affected annually, representing an amount 60000-140000 patients. Of these, 31% experience an adverse event medication during hospitalization, and 0.31% of those are fatal adverse events. The severity classification of medication errors was performed by several authors that assessed the severity of the error, according to the need for medical interventions, conducting surgical and nursing interventions (Wright, 85-97).

Often, medication errors are only detected when the consequences are manifested clinically by the patient, such as the presence of symptoms or adverse reactions after some time it was given medication, alerting the professional mistake. Nursing professionals should be alert and after administered medication (Westbrook, Woods, Rob, Dunsmuir, & Day, 683), this should be documented immediately in the patient record, enabling the discovery of the error quickly by nurses and interventions that can minimize or prevent possible complications or more serious consequences (Vazin, & Saadat, 425-432; Thakur, Thawani, Raina, Kothiyal, & Chakarabarty, 289).

Providing a safe environment for the administration of drugs involves a large number of resources, both physical (light, temperature control, noise, interruptions or telephone) and human (deficiency of knowledge, years of experience). However, such conditions do not exempt professional liability required for the damage they practice. The causal link established between the cause (act) and the damage is a prerequisite for the verification of the facts and to determine the degree of the penalty and damages in lawsuits, and comprising civil and criminal actions (Kiekkas, Karga, Lemonidou, Aretha, & Karanikolas, 36-44; Rothschild, Churchill, Erickson, Munz, Schuur, Salzberg, & Bates, 513-521; Barker, 774-779). The medication errors represent a large percentage of medical errors. “Medication Errors in an Internal Intensive Care Unit of a Large Teaching Hospital: A Direct Observation Study” an article written by  Afsaneh Vazin and Saadat Delfani from Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, says that “Errors in the medication process can occur at different stages: prescribing, transcribing, dispensing and administration” (425). Also Agyemang and While who are a Nurse, North East London Treatment Centre, Ilford, Essex, and Alison While is Professor of Community Nursing, King's College London, printout in thier article that the “Medications are the most frequent cause of hospital adverse events”(1013).

Only by identifying systematic errors, is that the actual number of error can be reduced. For the author, punitive actions instill fear and disappointment and have no place in current practice. The author stresses that the emphasis on education is needed to change the current practice. The need for professional education through continuing education, refresher courses and periodic training in medication administration is emphasized for us because, well, the pros take the share of responsibility that the profession gives them without showing fear reactions before the error (Rothschild, Churchill, Erickson, Munz, Schuur, Salzberg, & Bates, 513-521; Jennifer, Torowicz, & Yeh, n.d.; Kane-Gill, Kowiatek, Weber, 55-59). “A medication error is failure in the drug treatment process that leads to or has the potential to lead to ...