Check Out These Strategies to Prevent Medication Errors

Check Out These Strategies to Prevent Medication Errors In practices, medication errors can occur due to many reasons and at any stage of the medication process. Check out the strategies to prevent them.

Accurate medical records play a key role in preventing errors in administration of medicines. All providers must maintain consistent records of their activities to ensure proper tracking of activity related to the patient. Different types of medication errors that may occur in a healthcare practice include prescribing errors, administration errors, failure to prescribe, administer, or dispense a medication, not following a medication’s dispensing/prescribing rules, administration of a medication too late or too early, a patient being given a medicine not prescribed for them, improper use of a medication, wrong dose prescription/preparation or not paying attention to the patient’s medical conditions or potential drug interactions. Such errors can have serious consequences such as - prolonged hospitalization, need for additional medication interventions, and severe patient injury or death. Medical transcription outsourcing is a reliable strategy to

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ensure proper documentation of records that promote proper care delivery by all providers caring for the patient and protect healthcare organizations in the event of litigation.

Best Strategies to Prevent or Reduce the Risk of Medication Errors Follow the 5 rights Nurses can prevent medication errors by – o following certain rights of medication administration o right drug, right patient, right dose, right time, right reason, education, documentation and more Proper drug calculation Mathematical skills are key to 

make accurate drug calculations, and



administer medications safely and minimize errors

Medication reconciliation during patient transfer When a patient is moved from one facility to another in the same facility – 

all medication should be reviewed against transfer instructions

Continuing education Nurses should stay updated about 

new drugs and their safe use



patient monitoring, patient teaching, and documentation

Double checking Nurses can 

independently verify each medication on the patient’s order



use chart flags for high alert medications

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Verbal orders – know the rules Verbal orders – 

can be misinterpreted, misheard, or transcribed incorrectly

Indication alerts To reduce the risk of errors linked to high alert drugs 

standardize medication ordering, storage, preparation, and administration



improve access to information about these drugs

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limit access to high-alert medications

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use auxiliary labels and automated alerts

Minimize distractions Eliminating distractions – 

can reduce risk of medication errors

Safe storage of medications To ensure safe storage of medications – 

there should be proper measures in place



refrigerate them to maintain efficacy

Patient education Educate patients, families, and caregivers about – 

medications’ therapeutic effects, potential adverse reactions, and desired outcomes

Providers must keep accurate records of medication administration to prevent errors in dosing.

Nurses should document the dose only after the medication is given. Electronic health records (EHRs) can also reduce medication errors by sending alerts about food/drug and drug interactions and identifying potential drug side effects and/or adverse reactions. Experienced

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medical transcription companies can ensure accurate EHR documentation of patients’ medication administration as well as allergies and thus prevent medication administration errors.

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