Medication Timeless:  The article “Medication Timeliness” -... | Nursing

Clinical Requirement:

The article “Medication Timeliness” - Timely Medication Administration Guidelines for Nurses: Fewer Wrong-Time Errors?” highlights the problems and inherent safety risks associated with the unrealistic 30 minute rule for the majority of non-critical medications. One quote from the article truly brings the issue to the forefront of the clinical practice arena. Healthcare has changed since "right time" was first defined many years ago. Hospitalized patients are sicker, more medications are prescribed to each patient, and the formulary has expanded dramatically. The medication administration process (from physician order to patient administration) has grown in complexity with the addition of computerized physician order entry, medication barcoding, automated dispensing cabinets, electronic medical records, and time-consuming patient identification procedures. The 30-minute rule was outdated and impractical even before it became "law." Answer the questions that follow in paragraph format using the readings for context and citations. Part one 1. Think about the information from the power point, article and the readings about errors and answer the question: Can you see the patient safety risks related to continuing to try and follow the 30 minute rule? Use and cite at least one concept or content from the article Part two: Using this short scenario, answer the questions in 2-3 paragraphs At an acute care hospital, a change in the process of medication administration is occurring because the unit is piloting use of a bar coding system for medication administration. One month after the barcoding system was initiated, the nursing unit receives information from the Performance Improvement Department identifying that a significant decrease in the timeliness of administration of antibiotics has been noted. The nurse manager has written several reprimands for the staff involved. Using concepts from the chapters and required articles, answer the following questions. 1. Is this nurse manager taking an appropriate approach to this problem? Address the concept of “Blame or a Culture of Safety”. 2. During this same time, the nurse educator and the students notice that additional patient ID bands have been placed on the side rails of the beds. The instructor explains that this is a form of a “work around”, allowing the staff to scan the patient’s ID band more easily for the bar coding system. What are the inherent risks associated with work arounds and this one in particular?