Pharmacology for Nurses: Medication Errors and Risk Reduction

Flashcards covering definitions, reporting methods, and strategies for reducing medication errors as outlined in Chapter 7 of Pharmacology for Nurses Seventh Edition.

Medication Error

Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer.

MedWatch

The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program that allows healthcare providers and members of the public to report errors.

Incident Reports

Also known as Occurrence Reports; written reports used to identify contributing factors and performance improvement strategies that are not part of the patient's medical record.

Sentinel Event

Unexpected occurrences involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or risk thereof.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA)

An investigation that seeks to prevent another occurrence by asking what happened and why, and what can be done to prevent it.

Medication Reconciliation

The process of tracking a patient’s medications as they proceed from one healthcare provider to another.

Polypharmacy

A condition where patients (mainly older adults) receive multiple prescriptions that may have conflicting pharmacologic actions.

Barcode-assisted medication administration (BCMA)

Technology used to verify and document medication administration at the point of care.

Automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs)

Locked medical cabinets used in most hospitals and clinics to help reduce the number of medication errors.

Recognize and analyze cues

The Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (CJMM) equivalent for the Assessment phase of the nursing process.

Generate solutions

The Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (CJMM) equivalent for the Planning phase of the nursing process.

Take Action

The Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (CJMM) equivalent for the Implementation phase of the nursing process.

Evaluate outcomes

The Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (CJMM) equivalent for the Evaluation phase of the nursing process.

JCAHO

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization.

Medication Administration Record (MAR)

The record where a nurse must document specific details of medication given or omitted and record administration immediately after it is performed.