10 Strategies for Preventing Medication Errors

• Follow proper medication reconciliation procedures.
• Double check—or even triple check—procedures.
• Have the physician (or another nurse) read it back.
• Consider using a name alert.
• Place a zero in front of the decimal point.
• Document everything.

10 Strategies to Reduce Medication Errors

1. MINIMIZE CLUTTER.
2. VERIFY ORDERS.
3. USE BARCODES.
4. BE AWARE OF LOOK-ALIKE SOUND-ALIKE (LASA) DRUGS.
5. HAVE A SECOND PAIR OF EYES CHECK PRESCRIPTIONS.
6. DESIGN EFFECTIVE WARNING SYSTEMS.
7. INVOLVE THE PATIENT.
8. TRUST YOUR GUT.

10 Easy Ways to Avoid Medication Mistakes

• Make a list of your medications and keep it up to date.
• Use one pharmacy.
• Only take your own medication.
• Follow the directions on the label.
• Do not double your dose if you miss a dose.
• Do not increase, decrease or stop taking your medications just because you feel better.

Most health care professionals, especially nurses, know the “five rights” of medication use: the right patient, the right drug, the right time, the right dose, and the right route—all of which are generally regarded as a standard for safe medication practices.

To safeguard against medication errors, nurses must implement the proper procedures for medication administration, including at least these five rights: right patient, drug, dose, route, and time. In addition, they must complete accurate documentation once the patient receives the medication.

Prevent Medication Errors at Home

1. Make a medication list.
2. Keep your medication list up-to-date.
3. Read labels carefully.
4. Follow dosing instructions exactly.
5. Store medications in their original containers.
6. Use a pillbox to organize medicines.
7. Use one pharmacy for all prescriptions.

The “rights” of medication administration include right patient, right drug, right time, right route, and right dose. These rights are critical for nurses.

To help reduce the risk of medication errors, nurses are taught the “Five Rights of Medication Administration.” Also known as the “5Rs”, these principles help to ensure the right drug, right dose, right route, and right patient, at the right time.

These methods can be used to:

1. minimize clinician error.
2. improve clinician performance.
3. increase delivery of evidence-based medicine.
4. enhance patient- and family-centeredness of care.
5. improve patient-provider communication.
6. reduce inefficiencies and non-value adding tasks.

Here are some things you should do to avoid nursing mistakes while on the job.

1. Check and double-check medications. It is so easy to make a mistake involving a patient’s medication.
2. Be aware of the mobility of patients.
3. Wash your hands and clean your equipment.
4. Keep proper documentation.
5. Ask for help.

Some of the ways it reduces medication errors include: eliminating the need for calculation, measurement, preparation and handling on the nursing unit; making drugs available in ready-to-administer fashion; and providing a fully labeled package that stays with the medication up to its point of use.

Call a lawyer. Whether you consider the error minor or major, it’s smart to get in contact with an attorney who can help you understand what just happened, give you the legal advice you need, and help you report to the proper authorities. Seek medical attention. Drugs can be dangerous.

Until improved systems are in place, physicians can help prevent many of the most serious medication errors by observing some basic safety practices, such as writing orders whenever possible and limiting verbal orders to urgent or emergency situations, writing clearly and neatly , and avoiding abbreviations .

EHR technologies can help prevent medical errors by highlighting potential drug interactions and adverse reactions . Today, a number of features have been integrated into EHR systems which can prompt alerts for drug-food or drug-drug interactions.