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Medication Errors Annotated Bibliography Sample Paper

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Medication Errors Annotated Bibliography Sample Paper

Lessons from developing Annotated Bibliography

One of the things I learned when developing the annotated bibliography is how to choose relevant sources. To begin with, I learned that the article journals chosen must be relevant to the topic of study. For example, there are journals that give specific information about a topic of study while some give wide/general information.

I noticed that it is critical to use journal articles that give specific information and data about a topic. Secondly, I learned that one needs to do a background search of the authors of the articles chosen. This is critical in ascertaining that the authors are indeed experts in the field of study. Thirdly, I learned that one must be very careful when choosing where to get the sources to be used. For example, not every material qualify to be used just because they talk about the topic of study. It is critical to choose renowned sites such as PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus.

Summary of a Healthcare Problem

The problem I have identified is medication errors and how they can be reduced by leveraging nursing information technology. The problem of medication errors is one that is a big burden to healthcare facilities and the healthcare industry not only in the US but globally. Some of the common medication errors include prescription errors, unauthorized drugs, wrong dosage prescription, administration errors and related errors, among others.

Applying Library Research Skills

Nurses and other healthcare workers need to have information literacy skills as well as research skills to use in obtaining scholarly information. Patient safety is one of the critical areas that nurses and other healthcare workers need to put emphasis on during their practice. Patient safety is critical in the provision of quality health care. To provide a safe environment for patients, there is need to adequately address the issue of medical errors. One way of addressing medical errors is through research. Nurses, physicians and other healthcare practitioners must consistently be involved in research on how reduce medical errors to ensure patient safety. Further, nurses and other caregivers should leverage their library research skills to obtain current information regarding strategies of reducing medical errors within the hospital setting.

Identifying Academic Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

When obtaining information related to medical errors, it is critical that nurses, physicians, and other healthcare personnel use credible sources of information. The best sources of information related to patient safety can be found in reputable journals that are peer-reviewed to authenticate their validity. Some of the accredited peer-reviewed journals that nurses can use to obtain such information include PubMed, SciencePro, and ProQuest Central. There are also many other research works by individual researchers that are accredited and peer reviewed. When searching for information, it is critical to limit the search to the topic of study rather than doing a wide search.

Assessing Credibility and Relevance of Information Sources

In ensuring the credibility of the journal articles chosen, it is critical to choose recent journals not more than five years old since their date of publication. The importance in choosing recent journals is to ensure that the information contained in the journals is not outdated but still applies to today’s medical trends. Besides, it is critical to choose journal articles published by experts in the respective fields with extensive experience in their profession. The articles chosen must have the expert opinion of the researcher(s), and must contain information relevant to the topic of study. Another point to consider when choosing a journal article is to assess the validity of the information by comparing it to similar works. Comparing a journal article to others is critical in assessing any variances in opinions and results/findings.

Annotated Bibliography

In this journal article, Safarpour et al. (2017) examine the continued lack of patient safety in many healthcare facilities. The authors assert that it is possible to tame the problem of medical errors through avoidance programs, preventative methods, and striving to ameliorate adverse outcomes arising from the processes of health care (Safarpour et Al., 2017). The authors note that about 50-96% of medical errors go unreported, a figure that further confirms the prevalence of the problem. In the United States, approximately 400 thousand deaths from medical errors occur annually and medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States (Safarpour et Al.,.2017).

After investigating the knowledge level of 140 students regarding medical errors, the authors established that while most nursing students have a positive attitude towards reporting medical errors, their knowledge of identifying and reporting such errors is somewhat limited. Specifically, the authors further note that poor reporting of medical errors stem from both a lack of knowledge and fear of the resulting punishment. To overcome these challenges, the authors propose the need to improve the process of reporting errors. Specifically, for student nurses, the authors identify the need for extensive training on the reporting systems available within the given facility. Given the study’s focus on nursing students error reporting and knowledge tendencies, this article is relevant to the current study as it seeks to address the problem at the personnel training level.

In this journal article, Gandhi et al. (2018) identify five critical areas of patient safety that require system-level attention. The authors assert that true transformation of patient safety requires healthcare centers and healthcare professionals to address key areas such as transparency, care integration, medical education reform, and restoring joy and meaning in work. Gandhi and fellow researchers assert that the above factors have the capacity to immensely promote and improve patient safety in healthcare facilities.

The authors further argue that improving patient safety has moved from being a cultural issue to a technical issue where a simple devising of new systems can address patient safety. Among the key areas that Gandhi and fellow researchers feel needs more work to improve patient safety is medical education reforms. However, the researchers also feel that there are certain areas that remain a challenge to improving patient safety. Among the areas identified in the study that remain a challenge include care integration and patient family engagement.

This journal article is based on the announcement of medication-related harm by the World health Organization (WHO) as the third-most global patient safety challenge. Sheikh and his team of researchers strive to evaluate how to reduce medication-related harm by up to 50% in the next five years. The authors focus on priority areas of medication safety that affect patients the most, among them transitions of care, high-risk situations, and polypharmacy as the flagship challenges in medication related harm. The authors assert that if these three parameters are effectively managed, it is possible to reduce medication harm by more than 50% over the next five years.

Sheikh et al. (2017) assert that some medications produce adverse reactions than others which means their likelihood of errors is high. The researchers assert that medication with narrow therapeutic index often lead to high medical errors because even small dosing errors have catastrophic consequences for patients. Based on this, the authors assert that it is critical for hospitals to have method of medicine classification as a way of reducing medication errors.

In this article, Bokhari (2021) examines the critical areas of medical errors that need to be improved. The study was conducted in Saudi Arabia through a review of more than 4000 literature materials concerned with patient safety. Out of the materials reviewed, 45 studies were randomly chosen after they satisfied the author’s inclusion criteria. From the 45 articles used for literature review, Bokhari (2021) found some common reasons that lead to poor patient safety in healthcare facilities. Some of the reasons enumerated include the lack of ethical responsibility on the part of healthcare givers to continuously improve patient safety, inadequate proper safety culture, and the lack of effective patient-centered care.

Based on his findings, the researcher made numerous recommendations aimed at improving patient safety in the context of Saudi Arabia’s healthcare industry. One of the recommendations is the need to abandon the idea of individual blame when errors occur. Instead, the author asserts that healthcare facilities should move to a system thinking approach where every member actively participates in the process of reducing medical errors. Bokhari also recommends that healthcare facilities must adopt a strong culture of putting patient safety at the forefront of care practice.

The researcher also recommends that patient involvement in their treatment and medication plays a critical role in preventing errors. Accordingly, Bokhari (2021) notes that it is critical to involve patients in the treatment process with openness and transparency. He concludes that in the event of an error, it is critical to inform the patient/family members as quickly as possible instead of hiding the mistake.

Lastly, the author asserts that technology is pivotal in the transformation of the nursing and healthcare sector through improved quality services and patient outcomes. Considering today’s advancement in technology, nurses, like other professionals, must equip themselves with informatics competencies critical to the provision of quality care. Nurses need to have nursing informatics that go beyond simple data mining and entry. According to the researcher, functional areas of nursing informatics such as leadership, administration, and management require strong reliance on technology.

The relevance of this study to the current research draws from the fact the author identifies the integral role that nursing informatics plays in curbing medical errors. By identifying that the use of informatics helps improve interprofessional collaboration, the author makes an exceptional case for concerted strategies and effort in reducing medical errors.

References

  • Bokhari, R. M. (2021). Improving Patient Safety and Reducing Medical Errors in Saudi Healthcare Organizations. Journal of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Issue, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.26389/AJSRP.R101218
  • Gandhi, T. K., Kaplan, G. S., Leape, L., Berwick, D. M., Edgman-Levitan, S., Edmondson, A., Meyer, G. S., Michaels, D., Morath, J. M., Vincent, C., & Wachter, R. (2018). Transforming concepts in patient safety: a progress report. BMJ Quality & Safety, 27(12), 1019–1026. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2017-007756
  • Sheikh, A., Dhingra-Kumar, N., Kelley, E., Kieny, M. P., & Donaldson, L. J. (2017). The third global patient safety challenge: tackling medication-related harm. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 95(8), 546.
  • Safarpour, H., Tofighi, M., Malekyan, L., Bazyar, J., Varasteh, S., & Anvary, R. (2017). Patient safety attitudes, skills, knowledge and barriers related to reporting medical errors by nursing students. International Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(01), 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ijcm.2017.81001