International Journal of Research Foundation of Hospital and Healthcare Administration

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VOLUME 7 , ISSUE 1 ( January-June, 2019 ) > List of Articles

REVIEW ARTICLE

Framework for Patient Safety

AK Mohiuddin

Keywords : Errors, Healthcare professionals, Medication, Patient, Reporting, Risk, Safety

Citation Information : Mohiuddin A. Framework for Patient Safety. Int J Res Foundation Hosp Healthc Adm 2019; 7 (1):39-48.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10035-1100

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-12-2018

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2019; The Author(s).


Abstract

Medication errors are common in general practice and in hospitals. Both errors in the act of writing (prescription/dispensing/administration errors) and prescribing faults due to flawed medical decisions can result in harm to patients. Any step in the prescribing process can kindle errors. Slips, lapses, or mistakes are sources of errors, as in unintended omissions in the recording of drugs. Faults in dose selection, omitted transcription, and poor handwriting are common. Inadequate awareness or competence and incomplete information about clinical characteristics and previous treatment of individual patients can result in prescribing faults, including the use of potentially incorrect medications. An unsafe working environment, complex or undefined procedures, and inadequate communication among healthcare personnel, particularly between doctors and nurses, have been identified as significant underlying factors that contribute to prescription errors and prescribing faults. Active interventions aimed at reducing prescription and prescribing faults are strongly recommended. These should be dedicated on the education and training of prescribers and the use of online aids. The complexity of the prescribing procedure should be reduced by introducing automated systems or uniform prescribing charts, in order to avoid recording and omission errors. Feedback control systems and immediate review of prescriptions, which can be performed with the assistance of a hospital pharmacist, are also helpful. Audits should be performed periodically. Objective: Discussion and projection of medication safety and the strategies to improve its efficiency. Methods: The research is conducted through secondary data search from several sources including books, technical newsletters, newspapers, journals, and many other sources. The present study was started since the beginning of 2018. PubMed, ALTAVISTA, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was thoroughly searched. The keywords were used to explore different publishers’ journals such as Elsevier, Springer, Willey Online Library, and Wolters Kluwer that were extensively followed. Findings: A medication intervention is a sophisticated technique of both arts and science. Improvement is valued when the total system coordination brings an overall improvement in every aspect of prescribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring. Error in any stage ruins the effort of the total system.


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