NHS-FPX4000 Assessment 4-1 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue docx

Elements of Medication Errors

Medication errors are a serious concern for healthcare professionals, patients, families, and organizations. One concern is wrong medications administered to patients, which cause adverse drug reactions, mortality, and morbidity threats. The fatal medical error and legal proceedings for negligent homicide demonstrate the need for proactive prevention plans (Çetin & Cebeci, 2021). In the case, a nurse administered the wrong medication to a patient. The patient died due to the professional’s decision to remove the wrong drug from cabinets, overlook warnings on vial, and failure to monitor vital signs after administering the medication. Thus, negligence is among the serious concerns that undermine commitment to sustaining a safe clinical environment.

Analysis

Medication errors are preventable incidents that undermine the quality and safety of patient care. Specifically, administering the wrong drugs is a malpractice that undermine professionals’ adherence to practice standards. The problem raises questions about compliance with patient-centered practices and ethical guidelines such as beneficence and non-maleficence. Patients are vulnerable to adverse drug reactions, increased complications, and the risk of premature death (Çetin & Cebeci, 2021).

Further, medication errors trigger readmissions, prolonged hospitalization, and additional cost of care for patients and the organization. Increased vigilance is necessary to protect patients from adverse health outcomes caused by negligence, miscommunication, staff burnout, ineffective supervision, and weak oversight. Further, wrong medication administration reinforces the need for adequate training and complete adherence to policies and procedures on quality and safety of patient care.

Considering Options

Wrong medication administration is preventable through robust technical, administrative, and human aspects. Organizations should embrace automated medication processes to minimize errors associated with staff burnout and operational inefficiencies. Technologies such as barcodes enhance medication accuracy and patient identification (Salami et al., 2019). The goal is to improve verification and information flows across the care continuum. Adequate training is also necessary to enable the care team acquire knowledge, skills, and experience in administering medications. The process reminds nurses, physicians, and pharmacists about the value of effective communication, collaboration, and accurate patient and medication verification to optimize outcomes (Salami et al., 2019). Oversight and double verifications are viable approaches for preventing medication errors.

The practices enhance vigilance with members of the care team collaborating to identify and intercept errors before administering medications. Oversight and verification also prevents medical negligence, disruptions, and workload common in a complex healthcare environment (Cetin & Cebeci, 2021). Supervision is also crucial to monitor workforce actions and promote complete compliance with safety standards. The process allows leaders to remind the care team about the consequences of malpractices such as overlooking warnings on medication vials, failure to monitor vital signs and report errors after administering medications, and negligent removal of medications from prescribing cabinets.

Solution

The solution is double verification practices before administering medications. The process entails two qualified professionals independently checking medications before administration to a patient. Nurses are responsible for monitoring, discussing, and sharing information on risks and implications on patients. With double verification, there are opportunities available to assess risks, detect errors, report incidents, and intercept threats before causing harm to patients (Koyama et al., 2020).

Collaborative frameworks reinforce commitment to eliminating distractions, negligence, poor communication, and weak supervision across the care continuum. Double verification allows nurses to intercept errors before they cause harm to patients (Mohmmed & El-sol, 2017). The mitigation technique allows professionals to read and compare information on medication label and familiarize with a patient’s medical history. The duration could be three times before a patient takes the medication. The benefits include reduced confirmation bias associated with single identification and effective response to high-risk situations and high-alert medications.

Ethical Implications

Medication administration errors increase scrutiny about healthcare professionals’ compliance with ethical tenets of health care practice. The considerat