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¶ … Ethics and Legalities of Medication Error Disclosure
As Philipsen and Soeken (2011) note, it is the nurse's duty and ethical responsibility to inform the patient of any medical error in treatment, even if the error is "insignificant." The patient still has a right to know, as do all individuals who are impacted by the error (staff as well). This allows the medical community to remain transparent, which is a foundation of trust in the staff-patient relationship. Thus, the ethical implications of disclosure and non-disclosure are clear: to not disclose a medical error is to act unethically and without the transparency and loyalty that is owed the patient as well as the members of the staff. The legal implications of disclosure vs. non-disclosure are also clear. The severity of the error is what is most likely to affect the outcome if the error becomes known and there was no disclosure made initially. However, it is also the case that legal action is less likely to be pursued if disclosure is immediate and the severity of the error is not significant (Edwin, 2010). Indeed, Kentucky law states that each case shall be evaluated on a case by case basis, implying that there is some...
It is important for staff to be as clear about what is going on with a patient as it is for the patient to be clear about what the staff is doing for them. The error should be explained and the fact that it will have no significant effect on the patient is also important to explain so that the patient is not worried. Owning up to mistakes is part of life and avoiding doing so only complicates matters when admitting them can easily bring them to the fore where they can be resolved.
The process of writing prescriptions, including strategies to minimize medication errors is clearly outlined by The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), which focuses on "10 key elements" that can prevent medication errors (Anderson, 2010). First off, the process of writing a prescription "is a complex multistep process that encompasses prescribing, transcribing,…
References
Anderson, P. (2010). Medication errors: Don't let them happen to you. American Nurse Today, 5(3).
Edwin, A. K. (2010). Non-disclosure of medical errors an egregious violation of ethical principles. Ghana Medical Journal, 43(1): 34-39.
Kentucky Revised Statutes. (n.d.). Kentucky Board of Nursing. Retrieved from http://kbn.ky.gov/practice/Documents/aos34.pdf
Philipsen, N. C., Soeken, D. (2011). Preparing to blow the whistle: A survival guide for nurses. The Journal for Nurse Practicioners, 7(9): 740-746.
Legal Aspects of Medical Errors Various factors in the health care system are reported to be contributors to medication errors. This work reviews a case study discussed in 'Hospital Pharmacy' (Smetzer and Cohen, 1998) which provides a clear example of the complex nature of the health care system and the process of medication use and how this interrelates to medication safety and quality. The nurse made the decision to administer the
Health Care -- Statistical Thinking in Health Care The HMO pharmacy is inaccurately filling prescriptions. Prescribers blame pharmacy assistants, the assistants blame pharmacists and pharmacists blame prescribers. Analysis of their system show points ripe for change in order to improve accuracy. In addition, there are multiple measures that can be applied to substantially enhance the quality of the HMO pharmacy's work. Process Map & SIPOC Analysis Process Map of Prescription Filling Process Process Map
Recommended Pricing Strategies: As a pharmaceutical benefit manager, I have several primary stakeholders to whom I am responsible. These include: my organization, the employer as my client, the employees of the client as plan participants, the pharmacists dispensing the medications, and the pharmaceutical manufacturers and/or distributors. My job is to develop a plan that is profitable for my organization. I must also develop a plan that is cost-effective for the employer.
, 2005). In addition, the workload on clinicians is often increased past the point of reasonable because it is too intrusive and time consuming to document patient encounters during clinic time (Grabenbauer, Skinner, and Windle, 2011). The amount of information that can accumulate in a patient's record from multiple sources can be daunting and lead to information overload. CDS alerts can be so common that clinicians begin to ignore them.
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Map of Prescription Filling at an HMO and SIPOC for Problem Analysis (Bertrand Filling prescriptions and the estimated time each activity takes consist of four steps in most pharmacies (Bertrand, 2012). The first is entering the prescription when received from two to 10 minutes. It may be longer according to the duration of the billing process and the ease or complicatedness of the prescription. The second is filling the medication,