Preventing Medication Error

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1 Running head: PREVENTING MEDICATION ERROR

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 Medical errors are not entirely avoidable despite the many guidelines and

protocols in various healthcare institutions. Moreover, the patients' lives are always at risk, and it

is only proper that individuals take extra measures to keep themselves safe. As such, there are

many measures that one take in order to avoid being a victim of medication errors. Below is a list

of things that a patient may do to keep them safe from medication errors that was provided by

the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2014).

1. Confirm that all medical professionals involved in your medical procedure are aware of your

medicines;

2. Confirm that all medical professional involved in your medical procedure are aware of any

allergies you have, or any other reactions to specific medicines;

3. Ask for any information about the possible mild to adverse side effects of your medication;

4. Opt to have your surgery at a hospital that had already successfully completed many similar
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procedures;

5. Have someone, like your primary health care doctor, coordinate with all medical professionals

involved with your procedure and medications;

6. Whenever medicine is pick up from the pharmacy, always ask the pharmacist if you got the

correct medication that was prescribed by your doctor;

7. Make sure that you ask for advice regarding on how to properly take your medicines,

especially liquid medicines;

8. Ask anyone involved in your care whether they had washed their hands or if they are fit to

take part in your medical care;

9. Upon discharge, ask the doctors the proper course of treatment you should follow; and

10. Have a family member to go with you in every appointment for help that you might need.
 References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2014). What You Can Do To Stay Safe. Retrieved

February 28, 2016, from http://www.ahrq.gov/patients-consumers/care-

planning/errors/20tips/index.html

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