Medication is an integral part of any treatment plan set by your doctors. Although some treatment plans don’t call for the use of such drugs, many severe conditions require medication. Although treatment plans often start in the hospital, they often continue at home with patients taking home medications and following the care plan throughout.
Regardless of whether you’re a healthcare provider or not, it’s always important to know the rights when giving medication. With that said, here are ten rights to medicating that everyone should know about:
The Right Patient
In a healthcare setting, nurses and other care providers tasked with medicating should always check the name on the prescription. They should also check if the name matches the wristband. Also, a savings card should be asked from the patient if there’s any. To add another layer of security, the healthcare provider should verify the patient’s name and two more identifiers to really be sure.
There have been many instances where patients with the same names get mixed up with different medications. In a home setting, checking the prescription should be enough.
The Right Medication
Always check the name of the medication that you’re about to give. Several drugs may have familiar-sounding names that have totally different purposes. These drugs are often called SALA or LASA, which stands for sounds alike or looks alike drugs.
Aciphex, for example, can be confused with Aricept. Aciphex is used to treat peptic ulcer disease, while Aricept is for Alzheimer’s disease. Benadryl and Benazepril are other examples of SALA drugs. Benadryl is an antihistamine that’s used to treat allergies. Benazepril, on the other hand, is for high blood pressure. Aside from names, check the expiry and prescription of the medications before giving them out.
The Right Dose
Dosages are also important when giving medication. Too much of a drug can cause overdose and pose life-threatening effects on a patient, while too little of a drug may not be adequate to deal out its function. With the correct dosage, check the prescription or doctor’s orders.
The Right Route
Some medications can be taken orally, intravenously, inhalation, intramuscularly, etc. Make sure that you know which route your medication should be given. Paracetamol, for example, is a drug that has oral and intravenous preparations. Laxatives such as Bisacodyl have oral and rectal route preparations.
Never confuse the route as it can significantly affect the drug’s potency and can be very dangerous to a patient. Also, these drugs are never switchable, so if it’s intended to be an IV drug, you can’t give it orally.
The Right Time
Medication should always be given on time. There are some drugs that are best given during specific times. For example, drugs that aim to help you fall asleep should always be given before sleeping as it’s dangerous to take them during the day or when someone is active.
Some drugs should be taken after eating. Drugs such as metronidazole can upset an empty stomach. Aside from that, a full stomach also slows the digestion of the drug, increasing the absorption and increasing the effectiveness of the drug on your body.
Before giving out medication, double-check the prescribed medication at the correct time and verify when the last dose was given.
The Right Education
Whether you’re in a hospital or home setting, it’s always a good idea to know more about the medications you have. As a patient, you can freely ask your healthcare provider about the medications you will receive. If you’re a healthcare provider, it’s also your responsibility to inform your patient about the drugs you’re going to give. Make sure that your patient knows and understands what the medication is for.
The Right Documentation
For healthcare providers, always sign the appropriate paperwork such as nurse’s notes, doctor’s orders, or medicating sheet only AFTER administering the drug. Proper documentation monitors the patient’s intake of the medication. Documentation also helps with legal matters should the need arise for it.
The Right to Refuse
As a patient, you have the right to refuse when given medication. Given that you understand the consequences of taking and not taking the drug, you can freely ask your healthcare provider about it. For healthcare providers, always explain and ensure that the patient knows about the drug and what happens if they don’t take it.
After explaining and doing everything necessary, respect the patient’s right of refusal if they still don’t want to take it. Proper documentation is also done when patients refuse medication for legal purposes.
Right Assessment
Before giving out medication, check if the patient really needs the medication. As a healthcare provider, you should also check for contraindications and record baseline data. Always consult with the patient’s attending physician should you find something that’ll affect the patient if they take the prescribed medication.
The Right Evaluation
Take note if the patient is responding well to medication. Also, review the medications regularly and continue recording any observations or interactions with the drug during the whole course of the treatment. Healthcare providers need these critical data to work with each other to get the best outcome possible for their patients.
Conclusion
Medication errors can be common occurrences both at home and in the hospital. The ten rights of medication should always be known by heart to avoid such mishaps. By having such information, we all can reduce the harm done by taking drugs the wrong way.