Applying Library Research Skills
NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 2 Attempt 1 Applying Research Skills
One of the most significant problems in healthcare today is the occurrence of medication errors. Although a well-researched and preventable issue, medication errors continue to take place across the divide. While there is no uniform definition of a medication error, it is generally defined as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer. We all must do our part to prevent medication errors as it is crucial to safe, quality patient care.
I have only been a Registered Nurse for two months now, but I’ve been a Licensed Practical Nurse for over eight years and regardless of my title or duties, I always want to give top-quality care. This issue is important to me because I want to do my best to be a part of the solution. While humans are prone to error, Medication errors are preventable and I would like to do everything in my power to minimize my chances of making any and causing harm.
Ensuring the prevention of medication errors to the best ability is essential for
providing quality care.
Ensuring the prevention of medication errors to the best ability is essential for
providing quality care.
Identifying Academic Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
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I utilized a search engine called Summon to search through Capella University’s Library database. Through Summon, I was able to access articles carried by databases such as PubMed Central and CINAHL complete. I used “medication errors,” “medication safety” and “medication administration” as keywords to search for peer-reviewed literature pertinent to my topic. I also used the advanced search filter to narrow down and really specify my results by selecting things like “articles in English,” “peer-reviewed journals” and typing in my preferred publication
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date ranges. I also used Google to find peer-reviewed journal articles. However, I cross checked everything I found on google via the Capella University Summon database.
Assessing Credibility and Relevance of Information Sources
In order to confirm my sources credibility, I chose only peer-reviewed journal articles that were published between 2017 and 2022. I also made a point to only select sources published by well – known authors who had substantial professional experience in their perspective healthcare fields. To ensure that my sources were applicable to my topic, I read through each article carefully to confirm that they contained accepted facts and collective conclusions on issues relating to medication errors. Finally, I made sure that each one of my sources had a clearly defined purpose and contained pertinent information in relation to medication errors.
Annotated Bibliography
Gates, P. J., Baysari, M. T., Mumford, V., Raban, M. Z., & Westbrook, J. I. (2019). Standardizing the Classification of Harm Associated with Medication Errors: The Harm Associated with Medication Error Classification (HAMEC). Drug Safety, 42(8), 931–939. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40264-019-00823-4 In this article, the authors express concern over the diversity in the definitions of and methods used for classifying medication-related harm in hospitals. They discuss the comparisons of the severity of medication-related harm across studies and clinical settings and how they are limited by inconsistency in the tools used for the classification of medication-related harm. The authors concluded that a new tool called the “Harm Associated with the Medication Error Classification (HAMEC) tool, used to label and define levels of medication-related harm, should be used because it has clear definitions and does not include
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examples of error, harm or treatments, which are prone to misinterpretation. I selected this article because it highlights a major issue in relation to medication errors in that there is no widely accepted definition, leaving too much room for interpretation and fault in error
Linden-Lahti, C., Takala, A., Holmström, A. R., & Airaksinen, M. (2021). What Severe Medication Errors Reported to Health Care Supervisory Authority Tell About Medication Safety? Journal of Patient Safety, 17(8), e1179–e1185. https://doi.org/10.1097/pts.0000000000000914 This study investigated severe medication errors (MEs) reported to the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) in Finland and evaluated how the incident documentation applied to learning from errors. The theoretical framework for this study was the system approach to human error and error management to understand the processes leading to severe MEs and harm. The authors conclude that medication errors reported to the national health care supervisory authority provide a valuable source of risk information and should be used for learning from severe errors at the level of health care systems. This article was chosen because it addresses an important correlation between the collecting of data and medication error prevention .
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, 204209862096830. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042098620968309 The purpose of this review was to compare the effectiveness of different interventions in reducing
NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 2 Attempt 1 Applying Research Skills
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prescribing, dispensing and administration medication errors in acute medical and surgical settings. Analysis showed that prescribing errors were reduced by pharmacist-led medication reconciliation, computerized medication reconciliation, pharmacist partnership, prescriber education, medication reconciliation by trained mentors and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) as single interventions. The authors conclude that a number of activity types were shown to be successful in reducing prescribing and medication-giving errors. In addition, new directions for future research should examine activities comprising health professionals working together. This article is relevant because it offers a variety of different approaches to help reduce medication errors while also offering research-based evidence of success.
Manias, E., Street, M., Lowe, G., Low, J. K., Gray, K., & Botti, M. (2021). Associations of person-related, environment-related and communication-related factors on medication errors in public and private hospitals: a retrospective clinical audit. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07033-8 The aim of this study was to determine the associations of person-related, environment-related and communication-related factors on the severity of medication errors occurring in two health services. A retrospective clinical audit of medication errors was undertaken over an 18-month period at two Australian health services comprising of 16 hospitals. Descriptive statistical analysis, and univariate and multivariable regression analysis were undertaken. The authors conclude that patient counselling needs to be more targeted and that more collaboration
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and advocacy is needed from patients in order to reduce medication errors associated with possible or probable harm. I chose this article because it sheds light on additional
factors that can contribute to the occurrence of medication errors and offers an evidence-based approach.
Learnings from the Research
I learned a great deal while researching this topic. For instance, I learned about a wide variety of resources and some of the differences between them. I learned how to use a database to locate these resources. I learned about varied factors responsible for medication errors, risk and otherwise. I also learned about some research-based approaches to help minimize medication errors. Furthermore, I didn’t know there wasn’t a widely accepted definition of “medication errors” until today.
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References
Gates, P. J., Baysari, M. T., Mumford, V., Raban, M. Z., & Westbrook, J. I. (2019). Standardizing the Classification of Harm Associated with Medication Errors: The Harm Associated with Medication Error Classification (HAMEC). Drug Safety, 42(8), 931–939. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40264-019-00823-4
NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 2 Attempt 1 Applying Research Skills
Linden-Lahti, C., Takala, A., Holmström, A. R., & Airaksinen, M. (2021). What Severe Medication Errors Reported to Health Care Supervisory Authority Tell About Medication Safety? Journal of Patient Safety, 17(8), e1179–e1185. https://doi.org/10.1097/pts.0000000000000914
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, 204209862096830. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042098620968309
Manias, E., Street, M., Lowe, G., Low, J. K., Gray, K., & Botti, M. (2021). Associations of person-related, environment-related and communication-related factors on medication
errors in public and private hospitals: a retrospective clinical audit. BMC Health Services Research, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07033-8
