There are several checks and balances that can be put into place to reduce medication administration errors. At my facility, the first check is when the patient reports their home medications to the nurse during the admission assessment. Second check is when the MD goes over that med list and checks to continue or d/c the medication. Third check is when that list is faxed to the pharmacy where a pharmacist goes over the list. Fourth check is when the med is pulled from an accudose machine, fifth check is when the medication is scanned along with patient's ID band. And the last check is when the medication is read to the patient prior to administration.
As you can see, there are numerous checks where a med error should be caught. Not all facilities are this thurough on their med administration. This is perhaps why our facility has so few errors.
Good luck, and get feeling better.
Fish on!
-Rich



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