Improving the Use of Medicine - Essay Example

Improving the Use of Medicine INTRODUCTION Medication errors can be a serious problem in the health care system (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009a). Some errors can even become life threatening, as well as prolong a hospital stay for the patient (National Patient Safety Agency, 2004). It is important to find ways to prevent medication errors (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009b). While this may not be an immediate goal, it can be something to strive for in the future. It is clear that medication errors are a significant and growing problem in health care (National Patient Safety Agency, 2011). The purpose of current paper is to evaluate the NHS policies taken for safety doses. The author will point out the main aims of the initiative and what it was intended to achieve. The author will also identify the intended audience targets, the key drivers for the implementation of this initiative, the possible evidence base supporting this campaign, the likely positive or negative effects on patient care and the patients’ experience of healthcare in relation to the campaign safety in doses improving the use of medicines in the National Health Service. Safety first is a section created by National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) whose tasks is to identify and reduced the risks that patients may encounter while receiving NHS care (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009a). Their structural work is to gather confidential reports of reported patient safety incidents by NHS staff from various hospitals and healthcare facilities in Wales and England. When all reports have been collected, they are then put in a database called National Reporting and Learning System. Safety first has a number of safety experts and clinicians that are proficient in data analyses. These experts are responsible to identify and report common risks and identify opportunities that may arise to mend patient safety. This analysis will then be helpful to come up with a means to help reduce the risks. Safety in Doses (National Patient Safety, 2009a) is one of the campaigns that have undergone such a process. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The publication about this campaign was first reported in the Health Department report titled “Building a Safer NHS for Patients: Improving medication safety” (National Patient Safety Agency, 2004). Afterwards in 2006 the Health department of UK reviewed the patient safety-first policies. This was after they launched the first movement towards creating awareness and emphasizing on patient safety. However, this process was not an easy journey as the department experienced several challenges on the way while trying to deliver and implement this awareness. Consequently, the outcome of the first movement is what led to the recommendation to come up with a campaign for England’s NHS (National Patient Safety Agency, 2011). A campaign was, therefore, devised that would support and promote the implementation of interventions. The interventions were to develop the welfare of patient care and consecutively contribute towards strategizing and providing Patient Safety First initiative (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009a). In 2007, a team known as the Safe Medication Practice at The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) produced a report on a campaign that seeks to improve the use of medications in the NHS. The campaign dubbed Safety in Doses seeks wrote a report that entailed detailed information on usage and incidents of medication. The report seeks to educate medical field, and those related to the medical field on important facts about medication incidents from various departments and show these incidents can be avoided. This paper will look at the main aims of the campaign and its effect on the distribution of patient care by NHS. AIM: The main aim of Safety in Doses initiative was to identify the weaknesses that arise in current medication practice. In the process, there is need to come up with ways in which healthcare staff and organizations can use to help ensure safety in prescription and use of medicines (The National Patient Safety Agency, 2010). The initiative also aims at explaining the underlying importance of tackling medication incidents and putting it a priority. This is because the impact of these incidents on the NHS relates to healthcare-associated infections that have become a major concern in the healthcare service (National Prescribing Centre, 2004). The initiative was also aimed at analyzing the relevant data so that the best solution could be devised. An aim, which has been achieved following the development and implementation of the work program, named Safe Medication Practice. TARGET AUDIENCE: The period between January 2005 and June 2006, there was a result of many medication incidents amounting to the second highest reported incidents by the NHS staff to National Reporting and Learning System. The initiative compiled information from various health departments, which include acute care, elderly patients, children, primary care, mental health, and disabilities (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009b). The results showed that some groups of patients in settings such as children in ordinary care were most affected (Conroy & Sweis, 2007). This initiative, therefore, target NHS care providers in various health department such as general care, acute care, mental and disabilities sectors and those working in the elderly patient sectors. DRIVERS FOR THE INITIATIVE: The intended key outcomes of the initiative are narrowed down to seven key outcomes, which include: Come up with a means that will increase learning and reporting of medication incidents. The initiative emphasizes on the need for healthcare organizations and their staff to come up with means that will ensure organizational commitment. This is especially at board level by creating a safer use of medicine environment. Finally be able to develop an annual report that details learning outcomes that have been achieved through observation and understanding of incident sources, reports and audits (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009b) The next achievement that was forecasted is to minimizing dosing errors by healthcare staff. The initiative aims at making healthcare organizations undertake a background check. Mostly on incidents that are consistent with dosing errors and use these risks to work on a plan to stop or reduce dosing incidents. The initiative also wants to ensure that all staff is at par with current information that will be helpful in dosing (Bartlett, Auwaerter, & Pham, 2011). In time of implementation, the initiative looks forward towards helping NHS care staff with calculators, dosage charts, and checking software that are mounted on ready to use products and products. Other products such as syringes can also be mounted on the implemented checking software to help medical staff from having to carryout compound dose calculations. The third achievement that the initiative is working towards is the implementing NPSA safe medication. After careful analysis of incidents that arise from wrong medication, a public safety guidance program is supposed to be implemented and adopted by all NHS organizations (National Patient Safety Agency, 2008). Another projected achievement from this campaign is that the overall process arising from this exercise will improve on staff competencies and skills. Medical workers to be able to be allowed to handle medicines they will first be required to prove their qualifications in the relevant field (Brack, Franklin , & Caldwell, 2013). A good reference area will be available online www.skillsforhealth.org.uk. The fifth targeted achievement by this initiative is to ensure that there is no omission of medicines. Therefore, all healthcare staff should be in a position to ensure they report all incidents of delays or omissions of medicine. The resulting information will be used to carry out an audit and come up with sophisticated system improvement measurements (Brack, Franklin , & Caldwell, 2013). The sixth achievement that this campaign should be able to achieve is putting in place all documentation on patients especially that concerning allergy status. A thorough audit should be carried out that would review the frequency of incidents that relate to medicine allergy. This will help improve medicine dispensing including electronic systems, which will have records of patient’s allergy status (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009b). The final intended achievement by this initiative is to have a system that will ensure there is a correct process of prescription and administration of medicine to the correct patient. An analysis should be carried out in regards to incidents of wrong patients who are given the wrong medicine. EVIDENCE BASE: A team of professionals wrote the report from the Safer Medication Practice Team. There were also contributors from Patient Safety Observatory based at the National Patient Safety agency (NPSA). Others included Gillian Cavell form King’s college Hospital, Ewen Cummins from McMaster Development Consultants, and Clare Crowley based at Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust. Additional analysis to the data especially for pediatric medication incidents came from Sharon Conroy and Andy Fox from Nottingham University and Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust respectively. SUCCESS OF THE INITIATIVE: Following the recent report where there was a significant growth in the number of reported incidents across several NHS organizations, it is possible to say that the initiative is proving to be a success (NHS, 2012). This is because the key objective of the campaign is to heighten the number of reported incidents. This will create a sufficient and reliable data that are significant enough to come up with ways of battling medicine related incidents in NHS care (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009a). Impact on the delivery of patient care The initiative has had a positive impression on the provision of patient care. The information gathered in the report is used to assess risks and provide ways to improve safer ways of medication management. One such example is the information provided on the level of severe incidents and deaths caused by medication incidents. Acute care sectors have also benefited from the report as they have reviewed their safer practice initiatives. They also emphasize on robust implementation and monitoring of safer care to patients in terms of administering medication (NHS, 2012). Mental health care sector organizations have increased their identification learning and reporting of medication incidents. Local strategies in reducing risk now focus towards minimizing most frequent risks relating to children such as “neonatal medication errors”. The initiative has also helped reduce medication incidents relating to elderly patients by reviewing local programs that insist on treatment for medication-related therapy. Impact on the patients’ experience of care The initiative was devised so that it could help patients, improve their safety by identifying weighty issues in medication incidents, and come up with best practices that will lead to minimized incidents. The patients’ experience of care was improved to a significant extent especially following “the implementation for the medication practice work program” (NHS, 2011). NHS care for children, acute care, and elderly and mental health care have greatly improved. The latest report had shown an increase in the amount of reported incidents, which is bringing in significant data that can be used to draw up effective plans unlike in the past when data was not very reliable. Following the high number of reporting initiative on medicine incidents and the development of medicine, practice program and patients care is improving largely. CONCLUSION: Patient safety is one area that every health organization needs to put emphasis on, and when it comes to medication, much care ought to be observed as medication could either cause harm that is more serious or cure the patient. Looking at the report, it is evident that a significant number of medication incidents are happening on a daily basis, and some are fatal to the extent of death, but until the year 2006, there was no significant effort that was being undertook to try to control the situation (National Patient Safety Agency, 2009a). The data also shows that in medicine incidents were ranked as second following the ranking of reported incidents at healthcare facilities. This means that if nothing were done then a few years to come the number of people harmed by medicine would start to rival that of people cure by the same medicine. In May 2012, the Program was handed over to the NHS Commissioning Board Special Health Authority. This transfer ensures that patient safety is maintained at the heart of NHS and expertise and learning are built around the NPSA. References Anderson, K. (1995). The use of a structured career development group to increase career identity: An exploratory study. Journal of Career Development, 21 (14), 279 – 291. Conroy, S., & Sweis, D. (2007). Interventions to reduce dosing errors in children: a systematic review of the literature. Journal of Drug Safety, 1111 - 1125. Kohn, L.T., Corrigan, J., & Donaldson, M.S. (2000). To err is Human : Building a safer Health System. Washington D.C. : National Press. Madegowda, B., Hill, P., & Anderson, M. (2007). Medication errors in rural hospital. Medsurg Nursing : Official Journal of the Academy of Medication Surgical Nurses, 16 (3), 175 - 180. National Patient Safety Agency. (2004). Building a safer NHS for patients: Improving Mediaction safety. London: National Patient Safety Agency. National Patient Safety Agency. (2009a). 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