It’s estimated that 7,000 to 9,000 Americans die each year from a medication error. The cost of care from these mistakes is estimated to surpass $40 billion each year.
But what exactly counts as a medication error? The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP) defines a medication error as ” … any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer. Such events may be related to professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.”
Mistakes happen. But medication errors don’t need to. Cut down on the possibility of such blunders by following these four tips.
Create a culture of safety
Cultures begin with systems. Talk with your staff members about how to best accomplish this. What safeguards do you have in place? How do we make it safe to admit when an error has been made? While many technological solutions or other checks and balances are available, your employees must not have a fear of retribution when they report a mistake or a “near miss.”
Stress that errors or near misses are opportunities to learn and improve. By viewing mistakes as ways to get better at delivering patient care, you’ll create an environment in which your staff members are proactive in identifying and addressing possible pitfalls.
Cut down on distractions
One study found healthcare providers can be distracted or interrupted as often as once every two minutes.
Yes, multitasking is part of the job, but not when it comes to focusing on the critical tasks involved in managing meds. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) offered several ways to prevent medication errors. These included defining critical tasks where there should be no interruptions, limiting alerts, alarms and noise, developing detailed checklists, and designating times for non-urgent questions.
Put vital medication workspaces in areas that have limited foot traffic. Or establish a “quiet zone” around certain workspaces.
Use data from safety audits
Systematically and carefully review processes and protocols. Analyze and examine any errors that may have been found in an audit. Designate a person or team to review the data and identify possible systemic issues. Have them assess compliance with established protocols, evaluate the effectiveness of safety measures, and put a plan of action in place.
Make technology your friend
With complicated names, look-alike and sound-alike drugs, it’s easy for humans to make mistakes. Barcoding helps with that type of error as well as doublechecks the med, validates it, and traces it.
If a medication needs to be drawn up manually, a modified document camera with a scale can help track it. A snapshot is taken at each stage of prep. Then a picture is taken of the final container and the barcode is scanned. It all works together to form a system of checks and balances to protect your patient as well as you and team members.
When it comes to safety, a top-down approach isn’t the answer. It takes your entire team to spot potential problems, talk about them, develop a plan, follow it, and then determine if it works well.
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