Medications and legalities Flashcards
Safety and administration
Define medications
= a medication is a substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, cure, relief or prevention of health. alterations
What is the quality of use of medicines (QUM)
Wise: ensuring the best possible plan is chosen
Necessary: ensuring that when medicines are needed they are carefully selected, managed, monitored and reviewed
Safe and effectiveL minimising misuse, overuse and underuse of medicines while ensuring that medicines achieve the goals
RN’s role in medication team
- when administering they are accountable for knowing the med prescribed, their therapeutic and non-therapeutic effects and the patients need for medication
- provide education to patient and family about meds
- assess patients need for medication
- correctly administers medication
difference between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
pharmacokinetics = the study of how a medication enters the body, moves though the body and ultimately leaves the body
Pharmacodynamics = the process in which medication interacts with the body’s cells to produce biological response
Define side effects
= are predictable but unwanted and sometimes unavoidable reactions to medication
Adverse effects
= are severe, unintended, unwanted and often unpredictable drug reactions
toxic effects
= result from medication overdose or build up of mediation in the blood due to impaired metabolism and excretion
allergic reactions
= are unpredictable immune responses to medications and interactions
adverse drug reaction
= harmful unintended reaction to medicines that occur at doses normally used for treatment
medication interactions
= occur when the drug action is modified by the presence of a certain food or herb or another medication.
antagonism
= occurs when the drug effect is decreased by taking the drug with another substance.
What are three routes of administration
- Oral - sublingual, buccal, oral
- Parenteral - subcutaneous, intradermal, intravenous, intramuscular, epidural, intrathecal, intraosseous
- Topical - skin, mucous membranes, inhalation
sublingual medication
- Place medication under tongue until tablet dissolves.
* Blood vessels under the tongue are very close to the surface
enteric coated medication
• Tablet for oral use coated with material that doesn’t dissolve until the intestine
buccal medication
- place between cheek and teeth until dissolved
Legal/valid orders requirements
Prior to administering a medication you must check if the medication order meets the legal requirements
- Signed by prescriber and date of order documented or for Emr entered (legible writing and black pen
- Full name of recipient (medical record number), medication, dosage, route and frequency
- Instructions for adequate use
• Detail the number of times the drug may be dispensed or the time between repeated administrations
MEDICATION ERRORS
What is a medication error?
= any event that could cause or lead to incorrect administration according to the prescribers orders as when written on the clients chart
List preventable errors
- Using the incorrect drug
- Prescribing errors
- Administration errors
- Incorrect dose
What are the 5 rights of medication administration?
- right medication
- when selecting, removing, returning
- Right dose
- right patient
- right route
- right frequency
when are the three checks
5 rights are performed 3 times
- Prior to dispensing the medication
- After dispensing the medication
- Immediately prior to administering medication to patient
documentation
- Reasons for not administrating
- Reporting errors
- Recording adverse drug reaction
- Knowing the correct abbreviations
Scheduled drugs?
Scheduled drugs - medicine and poison that are in a classification system that the public can gain access to
what are S4 drugs?
- medication can be acquired by strictly prescription only as these drugs are a restricted substance.
- These medications MUST be stored strictly in a locked, secure cabinet which is attached to the floor or wall of the premises
What are S8 drugs?
= are controlled drugs as these are drugs of addiction.
- kept in a locked cabinet attached to the wall of the premises - different compartment to the S4 drugs as they need to be kept separate
- The nurses need two keys to be able to access these medications.
- Two nurses must be present when the cabinet is unlocked and witness the administration.
- There is an inventory record which is used to document each time a controlled drug is taken from the cabinet
Consent in nursing
= to authorise, approve or permit
- procedures, intervention and treatment
- pt decision
Without consent: touching a pt is battery
- Legal requirement to gain consent PRRIOR to commencing treatment or procedure
Why is consent important
= area of civil law
- assault, battery, false impriosment
