10 rights of medication adminstration, are the safety principles and measure a nurse take while giving medicine to patient. It is helpful to avoid common medication error.
List of 10 Rights are,
- Right patient
- Right medication
- Right dose
- Right route
- Right time
- Right documentation
- Right reason
- Right response
- Right education
- Right to refuse
Right Patient
This right ensure that, right patient recieve medicines.
Ex. Before giving medicine, ask patient full name or DOB. Any two data should be check. A nurse should not consider bed no as patient frequently changes bed. So, full name and DOB can ask.
Right Medication
It involves giving right medication that is given or prescribed by doctor.
For this, a nurse should read medication label carefully and then also check on prescription. There are medicine names are similar like Amoxicillin 500 mg and ampicillin 500 mg.
So, in this case, nurse should consciouslly read all the medicine names to avoid medication error.
Right Dose
Right dose, means a nurse should give the medicine in required amount no less or more.
In case of high or low dose it may became toxic and too little wont cause any effect over body.
For this, nurse should check prescribed dose, can double check for children, elderly or high alert medicines etc.
Right Route
Right route means giving medicines to the prescribed route such as oral, IV, IM, SC, topical, inhalation and rectal.
Nurse should always use prescribed route as if not then it can decrease medicine efficacy.
Right Time
Timing is very important. Nurse should administer medicines on correct time and frequency.
Time is depend on hospital policies, patient individual time like for insulin or antibiotics schedule. There are some medicines that gives before or after meals.
So, according to patient medicines should be administer on time.
Right Documentation
Right documentation involves maintain record of medication given to the patient.
After giving medicine, a nurse should document it in the patient file and nurses file for patient. This serve as a legal proof of administring medicines.
Documentation should include, drug name, dose, route, time, date, nurses signature and patient response after medicine.
Right Reasons
There should be a proper scientific reason present before giving the medication.
The reason should match the symptom of patient. Ex. A nurse only administer antipyretic medicine only the when person has fever.
To ensure that, A nurse should always screen patient diagnosis and symptoms before administring medicines. If found any problem then must inform to the senior or physician.
Right Response
Right response of the patient. Every medicine works for specific response from body. Anti emetic medicine should stop vomiting from patient.
Right response is all about to check weather the patient has right response like what is expected or there is a side effect of medicine occur.
Ex. Decreased blood sugar level after insulin and decrease pain after giving an analgesics.
Right Education
Right education involves informing patient or relative about drug information like why this medicine is giving. And aware for potential side effects.
Some patients are aware of the medicines and if known what to observe they react or inform when any side effects occur.
It also reduce the fear for medicine in patient, reducing their anxiety and restlessness.
It also involves educating a patient about what medicine should take, when to take and route etc. For patient with oral medicines.
Right to Refuse
Every mentally healthy patient has a right to refuse to medicines.
If patient refuse to take medicines, the nurse responsibility is to accept such decisions. But also, give the information of what are benefits of medicines and complications if patient does not consume it.
Then nurse should inform it to the senior and doctor and record it properly in nurses file. This way a nurse should handle right to refuse.
So, if you want to add any point, do it in comments section…