Medication errors
Medication errors are defined as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate use of medication or harm to the patient while medication is in the control of a healthcare provider, consumer, or patient (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2020). Medication errors are among the consistent problems that the hospitalized patients face and they occur during prescription, transcription, preparation, dispensing, administration, and monitoring (Lee, 2013). The medical administration errors are those that reach the patients and pose threat to the safety of the patient (Zhou et al., 2015). Correct administration of medication is the responsibility of a nurse. Quality improvement is of importance in the area of medication administration because nurses need scientific and technical support to carry out safe and effective medication administration practices (Pereira et al., 2020).
The purpose of the quality improvement initiative is to identify medication safety risks and prevent medication errors. The target population for the initiative include the healthcare professionals inclusive of nurses, pharmacists, and physicians, as well as target patients. The quality improvement initiative has many benefits. It will encourage the use of evidence-based programs, resources, and tools, it will provide technical assistance and support that will help the nurses and other staff implement evidence-based quality improvement activities. The initiative will also support the health care environment in its participation in local or national medication safety initiatives (Klingner & Prasad, 2013).
The interprofessional collaboration that would be required for the initiative involves social interactions and relationships where health care teams communicate regularly through participation of different professionals at different times. Each of the selected professionals will come to the interprofessional collaboration through his or her unique activity system and contribute it to resolve patient’s evolving clinical situations (Varpio, Hall, Lingard & Schryer, 2008).
The cost and budget justification is that the reduction of the error-related cost is a potential benefit of the intervention. The hospitalization cost due to medication error include increased economic burden due to increased length of hospital stay and high cost of hospitalization. Other costs include outpatient care cost, non-healthcare cost, and litigation costs. The quality improvement initiative will be evaluated by assessing the economic impact of reduction of the medication administration error