Why medication errors happen in aged care homes, and what can be done about it

Medication errors are a public trouble in aged care. Despite all the best intentions, errors altogether too frequently slip finished the system.

A survey of 700 aged maintenance nurses by the NSW Nurses and Obstetrics Union found that 83 per cent of nurses had witnessed medication errors.

Nurses reported medication being precondition to the ill-timed patient, ear drops beingness put under in a resident's eyes, and it was even reported that a cleaner had dispensed medicine in one showcase.

It's scarcely surprising then that medications management was one of the top five complaints received by the Elderly Care Complaints Commissioner in 2015/16.

Medicine errors "the bain of residential aged care"

Kate Carnell, lead source of the Carnell and Patterson recap of aged care quality regulations, newly said that medication errors are "the bain of residential senior care".

"It has forever been thus," aforesaid Ms Carnell, World Health Organization house-trained as a apothecary. She said older people oftentimes have polypharmacy, and often have a number of wellness conditions. In senior care, they may no longer bear the GP they had for 30 years that "knows them backwards", alternatively they may sole see a new visiting GP.

"Nurse practitioners are marvelous therein space, but the fact is that polypharmacy is a really complex space and something that we need to address."

What are the causes of medicine errors in aged care?

Inadequate training, time constraints, and relying in writing-based systems are any of the common reasons given for medicinal dru errors in residential aged maintenance.

Away replacing paper-settled systems with automatic medicine systems, many nursing homes have been able to dramatically decrease their rate of medicinal dru errors.

Automated medication systems: "medication errors have gone dejected dramatically"

Maroubra Shores aged maintenance facility, which is operated aside Montefiore, introduced Best Health Solutions's BESTmed automated Medicine Management system 12 months agone.

Maroubra Shores' Handler, Andrea Van Gramberg, said the nursing home plate had some inefficiencies in the way IT was administering medications, collating information, and finding trends, thus it definite to automate its systems.

Since the BESTmed system was introduced, medication errors have gone lowered "dramatically", she said.

The flow on benefits of automatic medication systems

Maroubra Shores has also noted a keep down of other advantages of automating its medication systems.

Data from BESTmed has also allowed the nursing habitation to key out trends. For example, if a spike in the delivery of pain medicine to a resident is observed, they stool organise for the resident to see the doctor to try to key out the causal agent of the bother.

Manuscript Van Gramberg also same that flexibility can be built into the system. At Maroubra Shores, residents don't take over to hang the 8am breakfast. BESTmed System allows for leeway with the timing of the morning medication rounds, allowing residents to wake naturally.

"We potty tailor the system of rules to allow tractableness for the residents' routines," she said.

Big checks are besides built into the BESTmed organisation. For exercise, if a medication is not signed soured within a certain time frame, the handler is notified. The double checks provides other layer of information that helps Ms Van Gramberg to "nip whatever problems in the bud".

Similarly, if the effectuality of a medication hasn't been monitored, management is alerted, providing them with profitable information about what is happening connected the knock down.

The BESTmed system helps nursing homes follow best practice. For example, injectable Warfarin and Insulin medications require sign off by two faculty, adding a agree to the system that "reinforces best practise".

Just the biggest change is the "developed efficiencies with scripts", Manuscript Vanguard Gramberg said.

"Less time is spent chasing up doctors for scripts. We've been able to tailor the medication rounds. We know which medication rounds are coming up. It also helps with means stave," she said.

"The feedback along the floor from the RNs is it's much easier to get laid where they are up to with medications."

Ms Van Gramberg said that though she no thirster has to contact them very often, BESTmed's living team provides "very workforce on information that helps us with the residents' worry".

Ms Van Gramberg said she would "definitely" recommend BESTmed's system.

Best Health Solutions: committed to caliber and safe use of medicine in cured care

The aged care industry, A with so many other industries, testament gradually continue to shift away from paper-based systems and towards greater automation. Sam Hijazi, carbon monoxide-founder of Unexceeded Health Solutions, says the company is committed to improving the quality and safe apply of medicine in residential aged care and has recently launched a doctor module that will admit doctors to chart medications electronically. This will advance reduce inefficiencies and bring the Mature Care Facility, Restore and Pharmacy a single survey of a resident physician's medication profile.

The efficiencies and accuracy that flow from automated systems will be the key to reducing rates of medicament errors in the ripened care industry in future.

For more information contact Best Health Solutions .

https://hellocare.com.au/medication-errors-happen-aged-care-what-can-be-done/

Source: https://hellocare.com.au/medication-errors-happen-aged-care-what-can-be-done/

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