Policy Manual sample

MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. 213 REDUCING MEDICATION ERRORS PURPOSE: • To reduce the incidence of actual or potential medication errors within MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. • To enhance the safety of patients receiving care, treatment and/or services from MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. • To educate MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. staff involved in the medication management system about risk areas for medication errors and strategies to reduce medication errors. POLICY: • MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. has instituted a “Medication Safety Awareness Program” and takes a proactive approach by focusing performance improvement activities on medication use. • MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. maintains a current knowledge base of, and implements best practices based on current knowledge to maintain safety of MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. ’s medication management system. Note: Medication errors can occur at any step of the process, i.e., prescribing, ordering, dispensing, administering or monitoring the effects of medications. • MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. has developed standardized practices for documenting medication orders and for administering medications to patients receiving care, treatment and/or services from MDT Home Health Care Agency, Inc. • The Institute for Safe Medical Practices has identified some common sources of medication errors: • Patient information, i.e., lab values, allergies, unavailable prior to dispensing or administering a medication • Unavailable medication information from written sources • Miscommunication of medication orders, i.e., similar names, misuse of zeros, inappropriate abbreviations, poor handwriting • Labeling and/or packaging problems • Medication device use and monitoring, i.e., lack of standardization in medication delivery devices, unsafe equipment • Environmental stressors, i.e., distractions, noise during transcription or dispensing