Best Practices for Medication Administration
1. Introduction
The first section of the book is an overview of what is ‘best practice’. It stresses the importance of doing things right the first time, as it is widely acknowledged that the best patient outcomes are usually achieved by avoiding mistakes in the first place. It describes the healthcare system approach in the greater New Zealand area, from which the content of the book is based. This approach addresses the necessity of a safer healthcare system and a reduction in the amount of adverse events that occur in the execution of medical care for patients. The aim is similar to that noted above, ‘…to do the right thing first time, every time’. With a massive medication input from the increasing use of pharmaceutics in treatment as well as the greater complexity of dosing medications, is it no surprise that the New Zealand Health Care Quality and Safety Commission is focusing on medication safety. Best practice in medications for patient safety has now been identified as a ‘Tier 1’ priority patient safety marker, and it is hoped that the work put into this book will contribute to the better, safer treatments of patients through a greater understanding of medications and the possible dangers.
This book is divided into three sections. The first being introductory, the second goes into the specifics of the medication process in clinical practice, including how to avoid medication errors. The last section focuses on the legal and professional aspects of medication administration. Each chapter topic is conveniently set out in alphabetical order. The authors felt that this would make topics quick and easy to find, as well as an easier understanding of a topic’s relative importance to other areas of medication administration.
This book is intended to present comprehensive and consistent information related to the safe administration of medications to patients in clinical practice. An anthology of ‘best practice’ in medication administration, it is intended for use in all clinical settings. This is a primary reason why its format is in the A to Z style, as it is envisaged that it will be used as a quick reference guide whenever required. It has been written targeting all healthcare professionals involved in any way with medication administration, from doctors and pharmacists to other allied health professionals and nursing, including students of all disciplines.