Before You Give that Med - Is it the Right Client?

Don’t give that med until knowing for sure that you have the right client!

FIRST RIGHT IN PREPARING A MEDICATION FOR ADMINISTRATION

Confirm that you have the right patient before administering a medication is the first of the 8 rights of medication administration.

Correctly match the clients name listed on the pharmacy label to the patients name on the MAR .

During this first step, you will want to identify some additional information about the patient.

Ø Does the patient have an allergy list?

Ø Does the patient have special diet

needs such as thickened fluids.

Ø Does the resident prefer or require their medications crushed or served in applesauce?

THE FIRST RIGHT EXTENDES TO ADMINISTERING THE RIGHT MEDICATION TO THE RIGHT CLIENT!

AFTER COMPLETING ALL OF THE 5 CORE RIGHTS WHEN PREPARING THE MEDICATION FOR ADMINISTRATION - THEN YOU MUST THEN IDENTIFY THE CLIENT BEFORE GIVING THEM THE MED!

Once you have confirmed that the patients name is the same on both the Medication Administration Record and the pharmacy label on the medication pack – three times – then you must confirm the actual identify of the patient before you administer the medication.

There are four recognized ways to confirm that you are giving the correct medication to the correct patient.

· If present, double check the patient’s identification band.

· Match a picture of the patient to the person.

· Ask the patient to state their name and

their birthdate.

· Ask a family member or another staff

rember to identify the person.

WHY BOTHER DO ALL OF THESE CHECKS?

IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONFIRM THAT YOU ARE GIVING THE RIGHT MEDICATION TO THE RIGHT CLIENT SO THAT YOU CAN PREVENT MEDICATION ERRORS!

If you accidently give a medication to the wrong patient what might be the end result?

For example if you gave a antihypertensive medication to the wrong client and that client did not have high blood pressure what might happen? That persons blood pressure might drop to fast and cause them to get dizzy and maybe pass out!

Medication Errors are a major concern in healthcare. So know before you give that medication!