Research Proposal on "Prevent Medication Errors Adverse Patient Incidents"

Research Proposal 3 pages (1096 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Prevent Medication Errors

Adverse patient incidents can assume a wide variety of events, including falls with injury, fires involving patients, and even patient abuse, but one of the most common and preventable incidents is medication errors. Because the clinical outcomes involving medication errors can be life-threatening, the subject has been the focus of an increasing amount of attention in recent years and clinicians in both tertiary healthcare facilities as well as outpatient settings have identified a number of methods that can be effective in reducing the number of medication errors. To determine the prevalence and type of medication errors being reported across the country and what healthcare providers are doing about the problem, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed literature followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Among the various quality assurance measures typically in place in many healthcare settings and one of the key measures of patient safety is the prevalence of medication errors (Anson, 2000). One of the problems associated with identifying and comparing precise levels of medication errors in various healthcare settings across the country, though, is a lack of operationalization of what constitutes a medication error. In this regard, Meadows (2003), a consultant with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), reports that, "Since 1992, the Food and Drug Administration has received about 20,000 reports of medication errors. These are voluntary reports, so the number of medication errors that actually occur is thought to be much higher. There is no 'typical' medication error, and health professionals, patients, and their families are all involved" (p. 20). Indeed, author Gordon and physician McCall (1999), emphasize that, "When patients act as their own nurse or doctor, they often make mistakes and may die as a result. And when family members are required to fill in for professional nurses there are similar hazards" (p. 11).

Based on its analysis of fatal mediation errors reported during the period from 1993 to 1998, the FDA determined that the most common types of errors involved administering an improper dose (41%), providing the incorrect medication (16%), and the use of the incorrect path for administration (16%) (Meadows, 2003). The most commonly cited causes for the medication errors reviewed by the FDA were performance and knowledge deficits account for almost half of all medication errors (44%) as well as simple communication errors (16%) (Meadows, 2003). In addition, nearly 50% of the fatal medication errors involved patients over the age of 60 years, and Meadows emphasizes that the elderly are at particular risk for medication errors because of the large number of different medications they are typically prescribed (Meadows, 2003).

Likewise, young people also represent a high-risk segment of the population since medications are frequently dosed based on their weight, and accurate calculations are absolutely essential (Meadows, 2003). This point is also made by registered nurses Stratton, Blegen, Pepper and Vaughn (2004), "Medication administration errors can threaten patient outcomes and are a dimension of patient safety directly linked to nursing care. Children are particularly vulnerable to medication errors because of their unique physiology and developmental needs" (p. 385). In fact, the majority of adverse drug reaction deaths in the nation's hospitals involve tend to be related to incorrect dosages, and… READ MORE

How to Reference "Prevent Medication Errors Adverse Patient Incidents" Research Proposal in a Bibliography

Related Research Proposals:

Addressing the Issue of Medical Errors With Mandatory Reporting Systems and Computer Technology Term Paper

Healthcare: Addressing the Issue of Medical Errors

Healthcare

Addressing the Issue of Medical Errors with Mandatory

Reporting Systems and Computer Technology

To combat the current crisis of deaths due to… read more

Term Paper 30 pages (8204 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

Willingness of Nurse to Report Medication Administration Errors in Southern Taiwan a Cross Sectional Survey Article Critique

authors, Y.H. Lin and S.M. Ma (2009), selected the title, "Willingness of nurses to report medication administration errors in southern Taiwan. A cross-Sectional survey," which was considered to be a… read more

Article Critique 10 pages (2768 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Nursing / Doctor / Physician

---

Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure Project Capstone Project

It Infrastructure Project

Description

The project reveals the strategy the Oak Creek Healthcare Corporation (OCHC) implements the latest technology to enhance the quality of service (QoS) and achieving a leading… read more

Capstone Project 25 pages (7426 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Computers / IT / Internet

---

Children Run Hard and Play Essay

Children run hard and play hard, and do not always make choices that are in the best interests of safety. Oftentimes, their bodies are growing and they do not have… read more

Essay 3 pages (1002 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Nursing / Doctor / Physician

---

Rural vs. Urban Health Care Disparities Dissertation

Health Care Disparity in Maryland

Context of the Problem

Unsettling Disparities Occur

Approximately 1,600,000 individuals who live in Maryland either do not have access to healthcare as… read more

Dissertation 67 pages (18449 words) Sources: 17 Topic: Healthcare / Health / Obamacare

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>