The Article On Medication Timeliness And Timely Medication A ✓ Solved

The Article Medication Timeliness Timely Medication Administration

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The 30-minute rule was outdated and impractical even before it became "law."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: 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 the 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 barcoding system. What are the inherent risks associated with work arounds and this one in particular?

Paper For Above Instructions

The issue of medication administration timeliness and the reality of adhering to the 30-minute rule is profoundly concerning in modern healthcare. In the context of patient care, the thirty-minute rule poses significant risks when the clinical practice has evolved to accommodate a more complex environment. Many healthcare professionals assert that enforcing such strict timelines disregards the nuances of patient care. The article’s emphasis on the growing complexity of medication administration, evidenced by different technologies like computerized physician order entry and electronic medical records, suggests that relying on a singular time frame is impractical (Author, Year). The 30-minute rule could lead to hurried administration, which may cause healthcare professionals to overlook crucial double-check processes that ensure the correct patient receives the right medication at the right time. With this in mind, the risks associated with patient safety are evident, as failing to adapt rules to current practices creates a dangerous intersection of protocol and real-world healthcare delivery.

Additionally, with sicker patients and a wider array of prescribed medications, healthcare professionals are encountering circumstances where the specificity of timing matters less than overall patient care quality. According to the article, not only has the number of medications increased, but the seriousness of conditions requiring treatment demands a shift in focus from mere adherence to time constraints (Author, Year). For example, if a nurse is pressured to administer medication within a strict time frame, the focus may drift to simply meeting that timeframe rather than assessing a patient's specific needs or interacting with them effectively. Thus, continuing to adhere strictly to the 30-minute rule represents an avoidance of the larger conversation about creating a culture of safety that prioritizes patient welfare over contractual or bureaucratic protocols.

In part two of the assignment, the scenario involving an acute care hospital piloting a medication administration barcoding system raises significant questions about management's response to performance data. The nurse manager’s decision to issue reprimands may not be the most constructive approach to addressing the underlying issues related to medication timeliness. Instead of fostering a culture of safety, where staff feel supported and encouraged to learn from mistakes, reprimanding individuals can contribute to a blame culture. According to health care quality literature, blame can inhibit open dialogue about errors and can discourage staff from reporting issues, ultimately harming patient safety (Author, Year). The nurse manager should aim to investigate the reasons behind the delay in antibiotic administration connected to the barcoding system rather than focusing on punishing staff, thereby fostering an environment where problems can be resolved collaboratively and constructively.

Moreover, the additional patient ID bands placed on the side rails present a classic example of a "work around," which while intending to improve the efficiency of the barcoding system carries inherent risks. Work arounds can lead to fragmentation in care and introduce uncertainty regarding the accuracy of patient identification. For instance, while the additional bands may make scanning easier, they could lead to situations where staff members may not verify the identity of the patient through consistent means, leading to potential misadministration of medications (Author, Year). Furthermore, these work arounds can create a false sense of security, as healthcare staff may come to rely on the ease of this method rather than the thoroughness of proper protocols in verifying patient information. The risks associated with work arounds demonstrate the importance of continuously evaluating procedures to maintain high safety standards and prevent errors within a healthcare setting.

References

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