tions and allergies. It only takes a minute to review, and your
patient stays safe. You can download a free medication reference
app like Pocket Pharmacist.
Don't forget to read back. We all know how important it is to
confirm a verbal order. Don't let time pressures cause you to
skip this step. Make sure that any verbal order gets read back and
confirmed before administration. Talk about it often to ensure that
it is a culture in your facility. All VORB (Verbal Order Read Back)
activities need to be documented and signed off in the medical
record "as soon as possible," per CMS.
Don't let drug shortages put your patients at risk. With all
the drug shortages, it may be necessary to substitute com-
monly used medications with an alternative. It's a good idea to
hold an in-service on any ordered med substitutions. Discuss why
and how the new med is being used, and any information staff
needs to know to ensure that the change doesn't lead to an error.
Safe syringe use
It's said that medication errors and adverse drug events that occur
during the course of surgery are 3 times more likely to harm a
patient than errors committed during other types of hospital care.
Yes, these errors will persist, as will our rushed and busy environ-
ment, missed or misunderstood orders, and look-alike or sound-
alike medications.
OSM
Ms. Mattson (leslie@almss.com) is a nurse consultant with ALM
Surgical Solutions in Atlanta, Ga., which offers surgical consulting,
development and operations support. Check out her blog, A Scrub's Life,
at ascrubslife.com.
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