Decreasing Medication Errors Through the Reduction of Avoidable Interruptions

<p>In recent years, the media has been rife with stories of medical mistakes in hospitals or other health care settings that lead to patient injury or death. While most of the media attention rightfully focuses on the horrific psychological and emotional toll such injuries and deaths impose upon patients, their loved ones, and the healthcare providers involved, there is also an enormous economic cost associated with the results of such mistakes that, if not resolved, will continue to strain an already heavily burdened system. Progressive step down units are fast paced and highly demanding. This type of unit is placed between the intensive care units and medical/surgical units. The staff is in constant motion however there has been an increase in medication errors that has lead to a halted workflow and ultimately a less efficient unit. The cause of this increase is multifactorial however the focus of this paper will be on the interruptions occurring during medication passes, interruptions that can have severely detrimental effects on patients and their safety.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Level thesis:degree_level

Project/Capstone - Global access

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Nyznyk, Julia

• Medicine and Health Sciences

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/66

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.usfca.edu:capstone-1070