Put a stop to IV med errors with 4 practices
Intravenous (IV) drug errors are twice as likely to cause harm to patients as drugs given orally, according to new research from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP).1
"The most important thing for ED nurses, given how busy and chaotic and distracting that environment can be, is to simplify and standardize everything they do as much as possible," according to Bona E. Benjamin, ASHP's director of medication-use quality improvement. Here are four of Benjamin's recommendations:
- Use standardized infusion concentrations of "high-alert" medications.
- "You don't have to remember, 'For this concentration, I use this rate, or that tubing, or that bottle,'" says Benjamin. "Since there is less to remember, there is less opportunity for error."
- Standardize the storage of IV medications.
"If all the crash carts have all the meds on the same location on every crash cart, it makes it easier to find things when you are in those true emergencies," says Benjamin.
- Use ready-to-use infusions at the point of care.
The goal is to minimize the nurse having to mix anything at the bedside. "We strongly encourage using something you can just grab off the shelf and give, rather than having to mix it," Benjamin says.
- Put resources such as dosing calculators and rate charts "in every treatment bay, so you can have them when you need them," says Benjamin.
Reference
- Proceedings of a summit on preventing patient harm and death from IV medication errors. Am J Health-Syst Pharm 2008; 65:2,367-2,379.
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