Medication Flashcards
1
Q
What is medicine?
A
Chemical substance given with intention of preventing, or alleviating disease, or enhancing mental and physical welfare
2
Q
A medication containing a substance in the NSW Poisons List;
A
- Schedule 2: “Pharmacy Medicine” (pharmacy ‘over the counter’ medication)
- Schedule 3: “Pharmacist Only Medicine” (pharmacist controlled ‘over the counter’ medication)
- Schedule 4: “Prescription Only Medicine” ( ‘restricted substance’) stored away from the patient, locked drawer/cabinet
- Schedule 8: “Controlled Drug” ( ‘drug of addiction’)
3
Q
Storage of Medications
A
- Schedule 2, 3, 4 and unscheduled medications must be stored out of patient and public areas
- Preferably in a locked room or cabinet securely attached to the wall or floor of the premises, with the following exceptions
- On a medication trolley used for medication rounds, which should be kept in a locked room when not in use
- In a secure cabinet (such as a bedside cabinet) including that used for patient self- administration in an approved program, in situations for which it may be impractical to attach the cabinet to the wall or floor of the premises
- Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medications must be stored and locked behind 2 areas (locked door and in a secure safe)
4
Q
Types of medications required in the intra operative (pre and post op) stages
A
Analgesia- simple, Nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs, opiates Antipyretic Antiemetics Anticoagulants Antithrombotic Antibiotics Regular medications- Antihypertensive
5
Q
Variety of routes- depends on patients conditions
A
Oral/ enteral- PO or enteric coated Rectal- PR Intravenous- IV Epidural- Epidural Subcutaneous/ Sub Intramuscular- IM Sublingual- subling Nebulised- neb Topical- topical Naso gastric- NG
6
Q
Trade Name
A
- Every medicine has a brand name, which is given by the pharmaceutical company that markets the drug
- (R) - registred trade mark symbol
7
Q
Generic Name
A
The drugs active ingredients that makes it work
8
Q
The advantage of using MIMs- role of the nurse (Medical Inventory Management System)
A
Composition Class Action Indication Contraindication Precautions Adverse reactions Dosage and administration
9
Q
High Risk Medications
The medications include (but are not limited to) the APINCH high-risk medicine groups
A
Anti-infective agents and Potassium and other electrolytes, and Insulin and Narcotics (opioids) and other sedative agents, and Chemotherapeutic agents, and Heparin and other anticoagulants
10
Q
Consumers at risk- examples of risk factors known to predispose people to adverse event
A
- Age 65 or older
- Currently taking 5 or more regular medications
- Taking more than 12 doses of medication per day
- Suspected non- compliance or inability to manage medication related therapeutic devices
- Literacy or language difficulties, dexterity problems or impaired sight, confusion/dementia or other cognitive difficulties
- Patients attending a number of different doctors, both general practitioners and specialists
- Recent discharge from a facility/hospitals (in the last 4 weeks)
11
Q
Medication errors
A
- Second frequently reported incident type after falls
- Environmental factors→ Inadequate staffing levels, high workloads, noise, distractions, poor lighting, untidy, cluttered or inadequate workspace, working on call/shift/long hours
- Team Factors→ Accessibility of clinical info, layout of charts and records, availability of resources- guidelines references
- Individual factors→ Physical health, feeling hungry/thirsty, tired, mental health- stressed/distracted/having low morale, insufficient knowledge and skills/training/experience to perform tasks required
- Patient factors→ Familiarity with the patient, condition of the patient, ability of the patient to communicate, acuity of problem
12
Q
Causes of wrong drug errors
A
- Confusion between drug names, labels and packaging are important sources of medication error
- Drug names often sound similar when spoken and may look similar when written down
- The packaging and labelling of different products may look similar and cause confusion
13
Q
General pathway of medication use
A
- Those administering medicines also play an important role in identifying, prescribing and dispensing errors before they reach the patients
- Adverse drug reaction (ADR): a harmful, unintended reaction to medicines that occurs at doses normally used for treatment
- Near misses- i.e. labelling issues
14
Q
The National Inpatient Medication Chart (NIMC)
A
- The NIMC standard published by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care is adopted as policy in all NSW Health Facilities
- The NIMC (acute) is a medication chart designed for patients in acute care. It is used across health service organisations in medical and surgical wards, emergency departments and intensive care units
15
Q
National Inpatient Medication Chart (NIMC)
A
- A medication order on a medication chart must clearly specify
- The medication’s active ingredients and/or proprietary name (where approved for use at the facility) with the strength, form and route of administration and
- The indication for treatment (if applicable) and
- For a ‘regular’ medication
- The dose to be administered
- The frequency and times for administration to the patient
- The maximum number of doses or the maximum duration of treatment with the medication (except where the prescriber’s intention is for the duration of the medication chart)
