Medication Errors

The healthcare problem identified is medication errors. Medication error is an error in the prescription, dispensing, and administration of a drug, irrespective of whether errors lead to adverse consequences (Dirik et al., 2019). My interest in the topic is based on my nursing profession, where I have witnessed numerous medication errors among patients. I have observed providers prescribe medications that patients are allergic to or even can harm their wellbeing in the long run. As a nurse, I must ensure my patient safety is considered at every stage regardless of the conflict or conviction other physicians, pharmacists, or nurses have in their line of duty. My experience has taught me that confronting medication errors never ends well, and I have observed death in the emergency department. I have had my experience with poor medication prescription, which placed my patient in a coma for a week. The physician had prescribed Morphine to a five-year-old child who had suffered broken bones due to a fall. The physician calculated the required amount hurriedly and told me to give it to the patient. Immediately after, the patient began having heart complications, and measures were taken to stabilize the patient, but they were futile.

Peer-reviewed Articles for Medication Error

The criteria I used in searching for the four articles to discuss the medical problem were based on a preliminary evaluation of existing peer-reviewed papers in EBSCOhost and the Capella Online Library. The intention was to identify the keywords used about the medical topic. I identified five keywords to use: medication errors, medication reconciliation, patient safety, hospital, and adverse drug events. I then embarked on an inclusion-exclusion criterion encompassed peer-reviewed journals with open-source concepts published within the last four years in nursing, medical, and scientific research journals and had the keywords mentioned above. The papers must have also been published in English. The exclusion was peer-reviewed journals that were expert and non-quantitative or qualitative based on a systematic review, meta-analysis, and cohort studies. The relevance of the peer-reviewed articles was based on credibility, which means alignment with the topic of a medication error, reliability based on the authority of the authors, and validity based on the publication date post-2017. 

Annotated Bibliography

Alqenae, F. A., Steinke, D., & Keers, R. N. (2020). Prevalence and nature of medication errors and medication-related harm the following discharge from hospital to community settings: a systematic review. Drug safety, 43(6), 517-537. 

The study aimed to critically evaluate available evidence regarding the prevalence and nature of medication errors and medication-related harm following hospital discharge. The background of the study is based on the motivation to understand the epidemiology of medication errors and medication-related harm during the transition from secondary to primary care. The study evaluated published case studies from 1990 to 2019 across ten electronic databases. There was no restriction in the evaluation process. The study assessed fifty-four studies that determined that the medication error rates were as high as 53%, with most of the studies agreeing that there is more than 50% of incidences of medication errors. Other studies noted that adverse drug reaction rates were as high as 27%, while for pediatric patients, medication errors were as high as 66.3%, with adverse drug events as low as 9%. The article’s rationale is to provide information regarding medication errors and adverse drug events. 

Eslami, K., Aletayeb, F., Aletayeb, S. M. H., Kouti, L., & Hardani, A. K. (2019). Identifying medication errors in neonatal intensive care units: a two-center study. BMC Pediatrics, 19(1), 1-7. 

The study’s objective was to assess the types and frequency of medication errors in the NICU. The methodology used in the study was cross-sectional to evaluate two neonatal intensive care units of two hospitals over three months. The study evaluated demographic information, drug, and the number of prescriptions for each neonate based on medical records. The study’s results involving 688 prescriptions for 44 types of drugs noted that about 509 medication errors were relatively high for each patient. This meant that there were 74.8% of medication errors with the identification that physicians provided wrong dosages and the administration of wrong medications by nurses during the administration phase. The article offers quantitative information regarding medication error occurrence and its impact. The article’s rationale is to provide points for argument regarding at what stage medication errors are given. 

Manias, E., Kusljic, S., & Wu, A. (2020). A systematic review of interventions to reduce medication errors in adult medical and surgical settings. Therapeutic advances in drug safety, 11, 2042098620968309. 

The study’s objective was to evaluate medication error that occurred during medication management processes and why it is a significant cause of death. The research is a systematic review using credible journals to evaluate the findings of the intervention in reducing medication errors among adults in acute medical and surgical settings. A total of 34 articles were reviewed under meta-analysis. The report indicated that medication reconciliation under trained mentors and computerized physician order entry is the best intervention. The use of both approaches can help reduce medication errors. The study concluded that single and combined intervention types were the most effective in reducing medication errors which policymakers ought to consider in medical and surgical settings. The article’s impact is to provide medication error definition, occurrences, and how it impacts patients and clinicians. The article will offer beneficial arguments regarding the medical problem, especially with the interventions and how they can help mitigate it. 

Márquez-Hernández, V. V., Fuentes-Colmenero, A. L., Cañadas-Núñez, F., Di Muzio, M., Giannetta, N., & Gutiérrez-Puertas, L. (2019). Factors related to medication errors in the preparation and administration of intravenous medication in the hospital environment. PloS one, 14(7), e0220001.

The paper’s objective was to discuss medication errors by evaluating the knowledge, attitude, and behaviors in administering intravenous medication alongside exploring factors in a hospital setting. The researchers incorporated a cross-sectional study of 276 hospital-based nursing professionals who were used to evaluate two variables. The first was cross-cultural adaptation and validation. Using Cronbach alpha value assessment and multivariate analysis, the study noted significant differences between knowledge and attitude, demonstrating that more excellent relevant knowledge correlates to a more positive attitude. The study’s findings determined that knowledge acquisition and a positive attitude promote acceptable behavior that impacts medication error prevention. The rationale for including the study above is to help generate reasons why medication errors are rampant among the staff. This would help augment the argument regarding human error and how it can be avoided using intrinsic factors. 

Summary

I have learned that in developing an annotated bibliography, I must be diligent in determining the best peer-reviewed articles based on their currency, relevance, and validity. The main points I have learned are to ensure I have keywords and determine the type of research papers (quantitative or qualitative) and journal databases. The main contributions of the sources are to enhance knowledge regarding medication errors, adverse drug events, and how medical personnel impacts the outcome of patient harm. 

References

Alqenae, F. A., Steinke, D., & Keers, R. N. (2020). Prevalence and nature of medication errors and medication-related harm the following discharge from hospital to community settings: a systematic review. Drug safety, 43(6), 517-537. 

Eslami, K., Aletayeb, F., Aletayeb, S. M. H., Kouti, L., & Hardani, A. K. (2019). Identifying medication errors in neonatal intensive care units: a two-center study. BMC Pediatrics, 19(1), 1-7. 

Manias, E., Kusljic, S., & Wu, A. (2020). A systematic review of interventions to reduce medication errors in adult medical and surgical settings. Therapeutic advances in drug safety, 11, 2042098620968309. 

Márquez-Hernández, V. V., Fuentes-Colmenero, A. L., Cañadas-Núñez, F., Di Muzio, M., Giannetta, N., & Gutiérrez-Puertas, L. (2019). Factors related to medication errors in the preparation and administration of intravenous medication in the hospital environment. PloS one, 14(7), e0220001.