What is the right route to administer medication?

Jack was just finishing his medication pass by administering eye drops to his client, Sam. Sam immediately started to complain that his eyes were burning.

Jack had carefully reviewed the MAR reading – administer 1 gtt Antipyrine-Benzocaine A.U. or otic TID before administering the medication.

Where did Jack go wrong? He confirmed the right patient, the right medication, the right dose, and the right time but what about the right route? Medical terms can be confusing, and Jack mistakenly took otic to mean eye administration. However, otic really stands for ear administration while optic stands for eye administration. You can see how easy it is to mix those two words up?

There are multiple ways that medication can be administered. The C.R.M.A. may administer medication orally, sublingually, buccally, rectally, vaginally, ocular, otic, nasally, inhalation, or topically. Each route has advantages and disadvantages.

Orally (P.O.) means to administer by mouth, while PR means to administer a medication rectally. Tylenol is an example of a medication that can be administered either orally or rectally. Just remember the tablet form of Tylenol is administered by mouth and the suppository form is given rectally. Drops and ointments can be given either in the eyes or the ears – but do not mix those two routes up!

Transdermal patches are medicated adhesive patches that are placed on the skin to deliver a specific dose of the medication through the skin and into the bloodstream. A sublingual (SL) route involves medications placed under the tongue while buccally involves placing medication between the gums and cheek.

After diabetes training with a registered nurse, the C.R.M.A. may administer insulin subcutaneously. Subcutaneous means that the medication is placed in the second layer of skin using a very small needle.

So what happened to Jack and Sam?

You know what happened to Jack – he made a significant medication error and had to complete a medication incident report form which was reviewed by his administrator. Fortunately for Sam, the injury to the eyes was temporary. Read the complete attached article Ear drops in eyes: A painful mistake.

Do not be a Jack and administer a medication via the wrong route. Triple check that you know the correct route by using your resources and looking up medication, medical terms, and abbreviations.

Only you can prevent a medication error.