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It is estimated
that 50% of all medication errors in
hospitals are the result of poorly
communicated medical information between
patient and hospital staff. Medication
errors all too often lead to drug reactions
and many times death can be avoided by
having well-maintained patient medical
records or by bringing our medication with
us when we come to the hospital or doctor’s
office. Included on our list should also be
herbal and mineral supplements, inhalers,
patches, creams, eye drops, ear drops and
medication shots.
Reconciliation team: L-R: Bart
Brizee, RN; Fay Daigle, RN; Deb
Bumbaugh, RN, Giselle Bull, RN;
Susan Dugas, RN; Barbara Beal,
RN; Lois Macias; Carrie Barnes,
RN; Miranda Byard, Cliff Vaux,
RN; Cindy Wixon, RN. Absent from
photo – Sue Webber and Brenda
Duggan, RN. |
Getting on board
with a corrective campaign to prevent
medication errors is Maine Coast Memorial
Hospital staff team of nurses and safety
personnel. The leadership is coming from the
Cambridge, MA, Institute for Health care
Improvement (IHI) and the National Patient
Safety Goals set by the Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
(JCAHO).
These include
internal protocols that stress verification
and clarification and reconciliation
(resolving any discrepancies) to help us,
the patient, to provide accurate information
to health care service providers. We now
have a new medical record for wallet or
purse and bags to load our actual medication
containers into. Dosage and doctor’s names
are important to include. To help us all get
in the habit of bringing our medication card
or our medication with us, there will be
copious ads and sample bags in local papers
or call the hospital’s Public Relations
Office 664-5337 for a supply of cards. |
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