Medication Administration is the backbone of the healthcare industry that is directly involved in the safety and well-being of the patients’ health.
Medical administrators are responsible to ensure that the patients are handed the accurate prescription and the right dosage that aligns with their health conditions and immediately take an action if they observe an adverse side effect of the medicines.
However, this is not all. To find out more about what is medication administration and why is it important, read this article till the end!
So, let’s get started!
Before moving any further, let’s talk about why is medication administration important;
Importance of Medication Administration:
Medication administration is an important process as it ensures patient’s safety. If the medicines are not administered properly, it may lead to the following issues:
- Allergic Reactions
- Bacterial Infection
- Legal Action
- Loss of Credibility
- Health Complications
- Life threatening Situation
Safe medication administration practices:
Some of the same administration practices conducted by the expert administrators include:
- Accurate calculation of dosage
- Double check protocols
- Monitoring patient before giving the dosage
- Right timings of medicine
- Educating the patient about the medicine
- Usage of technology to eliminate errors
- Get regular patient feedback
- Monitor any potential adverse effects of medicine
- Alter the medicine in case of a threatening impact on patient’s health.
Medication Administration Routes:
- Oral Administration: Taking medicine from mouth e.g. tablets, syrups etc.
- Intravenous Administration: Infusing medicines in the veins
- Intramuscular Administration: Infusing medicines in muscle tissue
- Subcutaneous Administration: Injecting medicines into the fatty tissue found beneath the skin
- Rectal and Vaginal Administration: Administrating medicines through vagina or rectum
- Inhalation Administration: Inhaling medication to heal respiratory health condition
Legal and Ethical Aspects:
- Informing patients about the purpose and potential side effects of the medication.
- Privacy of patient’s health history.
- Double check protocols are necessary.
Ensuring Medication Administration Safety:
Some of the medication administration tips include the following:
- Staying up to date with the latest and most effective medications
- Implementing modern administration techniques such as through technology
- Adhere to set protocols and regulatory compliances
- Engage with patients
- Use a patient centric administration approach
- Maintain open communication environment
- Immediately communicate alarming signs with health professionals
- Set patient care as utmost priority
- Seek patient feedback
- Conduct a proper drug dispensing procedure
Common Challenges in Medication Administration:
- Inaccurate dosage calculation
- Omission of medicines in prescription
- Not confirming patient’s identity
- Ineffective Communication
- Misinterpretation of Dosage
- Technology errors and glitches
- Limited time
- Insufficient Staff
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Medication administration process is a highly crucial as well as challenging task considering that not administrating medicines accurately lead to serious issues as discussed in this article including legal action, deterioration of health, toxic side effects etc. Therefore, it is important to take the essential steps and follow the tips we have outlined in this guide to provide your patient the best health service.
I hope this article answered your question, “what is Medication Administration and why is it important?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is medication administration?
Medication administration refers to the process of safely delivering medications to patients after a thorough check.
Why is medication administration important in healthcare?
Medication administration is important in order to ensure that the patient is given the right dosage that treats their particular health condition.
What are some common medication administration errors?
Some of the common medication administration errors include miscalculation of dosage, inaccurate prescription, wrong timings etc.
How can healthcare professionals ensure safe medication administration?
Health professionals ensure safe medications by double check protocols, revising the prescription and frequent post dosage monitoring.
What are the consequences of medication administration errors?
Consequences include legal action, adverse side effects, wrong intake of medicines, loss of patient trust, worsened health, allergies, and bacterial infection.
