NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Name

Capella university

NHS FPX 4000 Developing a Health Care Perspective

Prof. Name

Date

Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Medication errors refer to preventable mistakes in the prescribing, dispensing, administering, or monitoring of medications, which can result in harm to patients or ineffective treatment outcomes. Medication errors in healthcare pose risks to patient safety and financial burdens (Abdulmutalib & Safwat, 2020). This assessment evaluates interventions like continuous education, mindfulness training, and technological solutions to mitigate these errors effectively. The objective of the assessment is to assess the effectiveness of interventions such as continuous education, mindfulness training, and technological solutions in reducing medication errors within healthcare, aiming to enhance patient safety and outcomes.

A Health Care Problem or Issue

Medication errors represent a significant challenge within the healthcare system, posing risks to patient safety and incurring substantial costs for healthcare facilities. These errors encompass a range of mistakes, including administering medications at incorrect times, frequencies, strengths, doses, routes, or to the wrong individual. Such errors can manifest at any stage of the medication administration process, from prescribing to dispensing and administering (Savva et al., 2022). They are not confined to a specific clinical setting or patient type, implicating various healthcare professionals such as pharmacists, nurses, and doctors.

The causes of medication errors are multifaceted, often stemming from human factors, system deficiencies, and workplace culture issues. Human factors, such as distraction, fatigue, and lack of knowledge, can contribute to errors. System factors like lookalike/sound-alike medications, workload, and staffing problems also play a role. Workplace culture, characterized by fear of consequences and reluctance to report errors, exacerbates the issue (Tariq et al., 2023). The complexity of medication administration, involving numerous stakeholders, amplifies the risk of errors.

A study by Hanson & Haddad (2023) explored medication safety procedures in clinical nursing, focusing on nurses’ characteristics, skills, competencies, and the clinical environment. It emphasizes the crucial role of nurses in ensuring medication safety and highlights strategies such as continuous education, cognitive competencies, decision-making, and time management to prevent errors. The article underscored the significance of adherence to protocols, patient engagement, and practical strategies to manage interruptions and distractions to enhance medication safety.

Another study by Ekkens & Gordon (2021) investigated the impact of mindful thinking on reducing medication errors among nurses. It employed the Dossey Integral Theory to provide additional training to enhance nurses’ conscious, careful, and mindful approach to medication administration. The research demonstrated a significant reduction (73.3%) in medication errors following this mindfulness-based training, highlighting the potential efficacy of such interventions in improving medication safety (Ekkens & Gordon, 2021). Additionally, Manias et al. (2020) examined various interventions to reduce medication errors in adult medical and surgical settings. The study identified successful strategies such as pharmacist involvement, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), prescriber education, and automated medication distribution systems in mitigating prescribing and administration errors. It emphasized the importance of combining different interventions to effectively address medication errors.

Analyzing the Problem or Issue

Medication errors pose a formidable challenge in healthcare, transcending clinical settings and patient demographics. These errors, encompassing a spectrum of mistakes from prescription to administration, jeopardize patient safety and incur significant costs for healthcare institutions. The severity of this issue cannot be understated, as it impacts not only patient well-being but also healthcare professionals’ workload, morale, and institutional resources. The context of medication errors is broad, involving many healthcare stakeholders such as pharmacists, nurses, and physicians (Wondmieneh et al., 2020). This issue resonates deeply with me due to its implications for patient safety and quality of care. As a nurse concerned with healthcare outcomes, ensuring medication safe and effective administration is paramount (Wondmieneh et al., 2020). The repercussions of medication errors extend beyond individual patients to encompass broader healthcare systems, emphasizing the urgency of addressing this pervasive issue.

Numerous groups are affected by medication errors, including patients, healthcare providers, and healthcare institutions. Patients bear the immediate consequences of such errors, experiencing adverse reactions, treatment delays, or life-threatening situations. Healthcare providers face the ethical and professional dilemma of inadvertently harming their patients, potentially leading to emotional distress and professional repercussions (Rasool et al., 2020). Healthcare institutions shoulder the financial burden of addressing medication errors, including litigation costs, staff retraining, and implementing safety measures.

Potential Solutions

Addressing medication errors requires a multifaceted approach that addresses the root causes of these errors while implementing practical solutions to mitigate their occurrence. Potential solutions include continuous education and training. Implementing ongoing education and training programs for healthcare professionals, particularly nurses, focusing on medication safety protocols, cognitive competencies, decision-making skills, and time management. This solution aligns with the findings of Zarei et al. (2022), highlighting the crucial role of nurses in ensuring medication safety. However, implementing such programs requires commitment from healthcare institutions to allocate resources for training sessions, materials, and staff time.

Another solution is mindfulness-based interventions. Introducing mindfulness-based training programs, as demonstrated by McVeigh et al. (2021), to enhance nurses’ conscious, careful, and mindful approach to medication administration. These programs could include mindfulness techniques to reduce distractions and promote focused attention during medication administration. However, implementing mindfulness-based interventions may require initial investment in training facilitators and integrating mindfulness practices into existing workflows.

Technological solutions include leveraging computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems, automated medication distribution systems, and barcode scanning to reduce prescribing and administration errors (Aldosari, 2024). These systems can enhance accuracy, streamline workflows, and provide real-time alerts for potential medication errors. Implementing technological solutions requires significant financial investment, staff training, and integration with healthcare IT infrastructure.

Consequences of Ignoring the Health Care Issue

Ignoring medication errors can have severe consequences for patients, healthcare providers, and healthcare institutions. Due to medication errors, patients may experience adverse drug reactions, treatment delays, or even life-threatening situations. Healthcare providers may face ethical dilemmas, emotional distress, and professional repercussions from inadvertent patient harm (Alandajani et al., 2022). Healthcare institutions may incur substantial financial costs, including litigation expenses, reputational damage, and loss of trust from patients and stakeholders. Moreover, continuous education and training programs present a viable solution for addressing medication errors in healthcare. These programs empower healthcare professionals with the necessary skills, fostering a culture of learning and improvement. They can effectively reduce errors, enhancing patient safety and outcomes. Implementation requires significant resources and may face challenges in ensuring consistent engagement (Jaam et al., 2021). The quality and relevance of training content are crucial, and long-term sustainability demands ongoing evaluation and adaptation to evolving safety concerns.

Ethical Principles

Implementing continuous education and training programs to address medication errors aligns with several ethical principles fundamental to healthcare practice. These programs, aimed at improving patient outcomes, exemplify the principle of beneficence by empowering healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent medication errors. For instance, Cheraghi et al. (2023) emphasized the role of nurses in ensuring medication safety through continuous education promoting the welfare of patients.

Such initiatives uphold the principle of nonmaleficence by reducing the likelihood of harm to patients. Mindfulness-based interventions promote a careful and mindful approach to medication administration, thus minimizing the risk of errors (Chen et al., 2021). Continuous education and training programs respect the autonomy of healthcare professionals by providing them with the tools to make informed decisions about medication administration.

Nurses equipped with training in cognitive competencies and decision-making skills can autonomously navigate complex medication processes. These programs promote justice by ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities for healthcare professionals to enhance their medication safety skills (Ahmady & Shahbazi, 2020). Implementing such programs requires commitment from healthcare institutions to allocate resources for training sessions, materials, and staff time. Ensuring their effectiveness also necessitates ongoing evaluation and adaptation to address evolving safety concerns (Musharyanti et al., 2021). By prioritizing continuous education and training in medication safety, healthcare organizations demonstrate their commitment to ethical principles and their responsibility to provide safe and effective care to patients.

Conclusion

Medication errors in healthcare pose significant threats to patient safety and financial burdens on healthcare institutions. This assessment underscores the importance of implementing multifaceted interventions such as continuous education, mindfulness training, and technological solutions to address this pressing issue effectively. By prioritizing these interventions, healthcare organizations can mitigate medication errors, enhance patient safety, and uphold ethical principles fundamental to healthcare practice.

References

Abdulmutalib, I., & Safwat, A. (2020). Nursing strategies for reducing medication errors. Egyptian Journal of Nursing and Health Sciences, 1(1), 26–41. https://doi.org/10.21608/ejnhs.2020.80266

Ahmady, S., & Shahbazi, S. (2020). Impact of social problem-solving training on critical thinking and decision making of nursing students. BioMed Central Nursing, 19(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00487-x

Alandajani, A., Khalid, B., Ng, Y. G., & Banakhar, M. (2022). Knowledge and attitudes regarding medication errors among nurses: A cross-sectional study in major Jeddah hospitals. Nursing Reports, 12(4), 1023–1039. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep12040098

Aldosari, B. (2024). Information technology and value-based healthcare systems: A strategy and framework. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.53760

Chen, X., Zhang, B., Jin, S. X., Quan, Y. X., Zhang, X. W., & Cui, X. S. (2021). The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on nursing students: A meta-analysis. Nurse Education Today, 98, 104718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104718

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Cheraghi, R., Valizadeh, L., Zamanzadeh, V., Hassankhani, H., & Jafarzadeh, A. (2023). Clarification of ethical principle of the beneficence in nursing care: An integrative review. BioMed Central Nursing, 22(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01246-4

Ekkens, C. L., & Gordon, P. A. (2021). The mindful path to nursing accuracy. Holistic Nursing Practice, Publish Ahead of Print(35). https://doi.org/10.1097/hnp.0000000000000440

Hanson, A., & Haddad, L. M. (2023). Nursing rights of medication administration. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560654/

Jaam, M., Naseralallah, L. M., Hussain, T. A., & Pawluk, S. A. (2021). Pharmacist-led educational interventions provided to healthcare providers to reduce medication errors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Public Library of Sciecnes ONE, 16(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253588

Manias, E., Kusljic, S., & Wu, A. (2020). Interventions to reduce medication errors in adult medical and surgical settings: A systematic review. Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, 11(1), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042098620968309

McVeigh, C., Ace, L., Ski, C. F., Carswell, C., Burton, S., Rej, S., & Noble, H. (2021). Mindfulness-based interventions for undergraduate nursing students in a university setting: A narrative review. Healthcare, 9(11), 1493. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9111493

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 4 Analyzing a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Musharyanti, L., Haryanti, F., & Claramita, M. (2021). Improving nursing students’ medication safety knowledge and skills on using the 4C/ID learning model. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Volume 14(14), 287–295. https://doi.org/10.2147/jmdh.s293917

Rasool, M. F., Rehman, A. ur, Imran, I., Abbas, S., Shah, S., Abbas, G., Khan, I., Shakeel, S., Hassali, M. A. A., & Hayat, K. (2020). Risk factors associated with medication errors among patients suffering from chronic disorders. Frontiers in Public Health, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.531038

Savva, G., Papastavrou, E., Charalambous, A., Vryonides, S., & Merkouris, A. (2022). Exploring nurses’ perceptions of medication error risk factors: Findings from a sequential qualitative study. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 9(9). https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936221094857

Tariq, R. A., Vashisht, R., Sinha, A., & Scherbak, Y. (2023). Medication dispensing errors and prevention. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30085607/