Medication Order Flashcards
What are the 5 components of a medication order?
- Drug
- Dosage
- Route
- Frequency
- Miscellaneous
Who orders medications?
A physician or anesthetist
What are the 8 “rights” of medication transcription?
- Name of patient
- Name of drug to be administered
- Dosage
- Route of administration
- Time and/or frequency of administration
- Miscellaneous
- Date & time order was written
- Signature of person who wrote the order
What are the 5 rules of medication transcription?
- Right drug: It is important that close attention be paid to the drug order when one is transcribing medications. Many drugs have similar names and spellings.
- Right dose: Once again, accuracy in transcribing the medication dose is vital to patient safety.
- Right route: Never assume the route for a medication; always check if the order is not clear. (Some medications are administered by one route only. Therefore, the doctor may not include the route of administration when writing the order.)
- Right time: Pay special attention to stat or one-time orders, and let the nurse know if a stat or now medication is ordered. (Some health care facilities prefer that the nurse fill in the specific time of administration. The times may vary due to type of medication, patients home schedule or patient’s feeding schedule.)
- Right patient: It is critical that medication orders are transcribed on the correct patient’s chart or MAR. Always check and double check the name on the chart when transcribing medication orders. If an error is made make the correction immediately and notify the nurse of the correction.
What are the routes of administrations?
- oral (po) - patient swallows the medication, capsule, pill, tablet, or liquid
- sublingual (sl) - tab placed under the tongue and is absorbed
- inhalation - liquid medications administered through puffer or inhaler, often kept at bedside
- topical - applied to skin, lotion, liniment, ointment (ung.), powders, sprays, creams, patches
- suppository - insertion of a medication into a body opening (i.e. per rectum)
- parenteral - fluids or medications are given by injection or intravenously
- nasogastric tube (ng/NG) - medications administered through a tube for patients who cannot swallow or are too weak or nauseated
What are the 5 types of parenteral administration?
- subcutaneous (sc) - medication injected under the skin into fat or connective tissue
- intramuscular (IM) - injected deeply into the muscle
- intravenous (IV) - injected within the vein
- IV Push / Bolus - concentrated amount of medication injected into a vein
- saline lock - device used to administer intermittent IV medications
What are some abbreviations for the medication order route?
ID - intradermal
GT - gastrostomy tube
NG / ng - nasogastric tube
po - by mouth
IM - intramuscular
IV - intravenous
sc, sq, subq - subcutaneous
sl - sublingual
pr - per rectum
OD, OS, OU - eye
AD, AS, AU - ear
vag. - vaginally
What are some abbreviations for the medication order frequency?
hs - bedtime
STAT - immediately
qd - once a day
q2d, q3d - every 2 days, every 3 days
q4h, q8h - every 4 hours, every 8 hours
qod - every other day
bid - twice a day
tid - three times a day
qid - four times a day
prn - as needed, as necessary
ac - before meals
pc - after meals
cc - with meals
What are some abbreviations for a medication order measurement?
g, gm - gram
mg - milligram
ug, mcg - microgram
kg - kilogram
gtt(s) - drop(s)
U. - unit
gr. - grain
L - liter/litre
ml - milliliter
mEq - milliequivalent
cc - cubic centimeter
What are some abbreviations for a medication order dosage form?
amps - ampules, ampoules
caps - capusles
elixir - liquid
ung. - ointment
tabs - tablets
supps - suppository(ies)
patch
What is the abbreviation for every second day?
q2d
What is the abbreviation for every day, daily?
qd, OD
What is the abbreviation for bedtime (hour of sleep)?
hs
What is the abbreviation for twice a day?
bid
What is the abbreviation for three times a day?
tid
