When a person is feeling poorly and they take medication at home, maybe Paracetamol or Ibuprofen, it is always important for them to read the guidelines on dosage. Taking too many tablets could potentially lead to an overdose and the patient ending up in hospital! In a hospital or health care environment it is even more essential that the right patient takes the right dose of the right medication, at the right time and in the right way! Reducing the risk of any administration errors is therefore of vital importance, the results of any mix up or mistake on a poorly patient’s notes could see them take the wrong medication and potentially cause a fatal result! Visit Tidal Training and enrol on a Medication administration course to reduce the risk of any medication errors.
Generally, when you think about taking medication, you would think about swallowing a tablet with a sip of water but there are several ways in which a poorly patient can have their medication administered. Orally, Inhalation, Rectal, Nebulization, Transdermal and Injection.
The different medications that can be administered in these various ways could help a very poorly patient to recover but could also cause potentially life-threatening consequences if the wrong dosage of the wrong drug was given to the wrong patient at the wrong time and in the wrong way! Accurate patient records are of vital importance in the role of any doctor or nurse practitioner so that mistakes are avoided.