(Midterm) Dispensing Process and Medication Safety Flashcards
the usage is common on prescriptions and medication orders, some are derived from the Latin through its historical use in medicine and pharmacy, whereas others have evolved through prescribers use of writing shortcuts.
ABBREVIATIONS
can result from the misuse, misinterpretation, and illegible writing of abbreviations and through the use of ad hoc or made up abbreviations
Medication errors
published a list of abbreviations and
symbols, and dose designations that
it recommends consideration on
discontinuance of use.
INSTITUTE FOR SAFE MEDICATION PRACTICES (ISMP)
Every Institution or _____________ approves medical abbreviations for use to prevent medication errors
hospital the P & TC
● Each piece of information should be
appropriate and consistent with the
remaining information (i.e. , the instructions
for use should be appropriate for the
medication being ordered).
● The pharmacist should read the entire
prescription or medication order carefully to
determine the prescriber’s intent by
interpreting the following information:
1. The name and address of both the patient
and the prescriber.
2. The patient’s disease or condition requires
treatment.
3. The reason the order is indicated (e.g., an
antibacterial for an infection; for pain as
needed; for cough and colds, etc).
4. The name of the product , the quantity
prescribed, and instructions for use.
5. All terminology, including units of measure
(apothecary, metric, or English)
Understanding the Medication Order
- Check the patient’s details appropriateness
of the treatment regimen for the particular
patient. - Check the legal requirements of the
prescription. - Check the product details, name of the drug
prescribed, pharmaceutical form, strength
and the total amount to be dispensed,
careful selection from stock (look-alike,
sound alike). - Check the dosage and directions checked
with reference to the patient’s age, maximum doses and dosage regimens.
Interpretation of Prescriptions
- The patient’s disease or condition requiring
treatment. - The patient’s allergies or hypersensitivities.
- The pharmacological or biological action of
the prescribed product. - The prescribed route of administration.
- Whether the prescribed product might result in a drug-drug, drug-disease, or drug-food interaction.
- Whether the dose, dosage form, and
dosage regimen are safe and likely to meet
the needs of the patient.
should be considered during an evaluation
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION TO REDUCE PRESCRIBING ERRORS
“ESSIGECU”
“ESSIGECU”
- EVALUATE and dearly define the patient’s
problem; - SPECIFY the therapeutic objective;
- SELECT the appropriate drug therapy;
- INITIATE therapy with appropriate details
and consider nonpharmacologic therapies; - GIVE information, instructions, and
warnings; and - EVALUATE therapy regularly (e.g., monitor
treatment results, consider discontinuation
of the drug). - CONSIDER drug cost when prescribing;
and - USE computers and other tools to reduce
prescribing errors.
ROLE OF PHARMACISTS IN MEDICATION SAFETY
- Empower PharmacyTeamsto Spearhead Change
- Establishing Multidisciplinary Medication Safety Efforts
- Review and AssessExistingProcesses and Technologies
- Develop a business plan to Reduce Safety Events
- Pharmacists Taking the Lead
Pharmacists serve as medication experts
and are well positioned to lead
medication-related change initiatives, and
pharmacy leaders should empower their
teams to lead such efforts. This support
could include supplemental education,
additional training in quality improvement
(QI) processes and communication of
patient safety metrics. Pharmacy leaders
also should guide their team members.
Empower PharmacyTeamsto Spearhead Change
Medication-use processes are integrated
efforts that require collaboration among a
wide range of professionals. Pharmacists
can, for example, form a multidisciplinary
subcommittee within their hospital’s
pharmacy and therapeutics committee.
Establishing Multidisciplinary Medication Safety Efforts
The best place for pharmacy teams to start
with medication safety initiatives is to first
evaluate how their existing processes and
technologies are affecting patient safety.
This will allow them to identify where
preventable errors are either occurring or
likely to occur in the medication-use
process. Evaluating these processes and
tracking relevant metrics can provide
actionable insights that reveal where
improvements are most needed.
Review and AssessExistingProcesses and Technologies
Once the business plan has been
approved, project managers must establish
a regular cadence with executive leadership
and the appropriate stakeholders to discuss
potential and established obstacles, review
performance metrics, and share wins.
Develop a business plan to Reduce Safety Events
Business plan should clearly and adequately communicate the current impact
of medication errors on patient outcomes,
institutional finances, and other key metrics
and performance indicators. The business
plan also should include the anticipated
benefits on patient outcomes, clinical
workflows and cost reductions.
Develop a BusinessPlan to Reduce Safety Events
