Quality and Safety in Practice Summary

Quality and Safety in Practice
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Institution
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Quality and Safety in Practice
Summarize the Situation
Medication errors continue to interfere with quality-of-care patients receive all over the world. They contribute to exacerbations of healthcare conditions, while the extreme results could be death. In the United States, medication errors are one of the leading causes of hospital readmissions as well as death (Rodziewicz, 2021). The question one needs to ask themselves is whether these medication errors can be eliminated or mitigated enough to enhance patient safety, quality of care, and outcomes.
The situation in question involved a medication error that resulted in a bad allergic reaction. The allergic reaction was so bad that it led to the readmission of the patient. The situation under review did not involve me, but it happened to a friend. The issue was quite extensive in its harm, but it served as a lesson to the rest of us as we tried to help enhance patient care.
While issuing medication to a patient, the nurse tending to the patient did not review the patient's medication history. She assumed that the physician was well aware of the patient's allergic reactions to penicillin, and therefore, did not ask but simply issued the medication. Therefore, she was not aware of the reactions the patient could have after taking the medication. Apparently, the patient had had a reaction to penicillin in the past. However, these reactions were arrested early, and the patient was helped. But, this piece of information was not as conspicuously included as it should have been. Therefore, the nurse did not know how best to change or tend to the patient after noticing the reactions, which mainly included shortness of breath. There was panic and pandemonium as the nurse tried to help the patient.
The care standard not met was that the nurse did not do her due diligence to determine whether the patient would be okay with the medication. The outcome, as indicated, was that the patient suffered an allergic reaction that involved shortness of breath. Further, the patient had to be readmitted because the reactions were getting worse.
Nurse's Role in the Patient Care Situation
The nurse's role in the patient care situation would have been to do her due diligence and find out whether the patient could have any reactions or their history showcases something worth noticing or tending to. For the scenario presented, the nurse was supposed to either engage the patient or take a few minutes to review the medication given against the patient's history. The issuance of the medication happened while the patient was being discharged, and in the end, the patient had to be readmitted a few hours later. The nurse did respond early by sounding the alarm and having the patient readmitted, however, a review of the events shows that the whole ordeal could have been avoided.
Role the Patient Played in their own Quality- or Safety-Related Situation
As it was soon discovered, the patient had indicated that they were allergic to penicillin to their physician. However, a different physician wrote the prescription. It is crucial to note that the handwriting of the prescription also made it a lot difficult for the patient to kno...