This presentation discusses the clinical errors that may occur in the treatment of Druhi Neupane due to communication barriers. It explores the potential errors such as misdiagnosis, medication reconciliation error, and error of documentation. Strategies to overcome these barriers are also provided.
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Identification of the patient The 48 year old Druhi Neupane is clearly a high risk of clinical errors due to the fact that there is a communication barrier between Druhi and the nurse. Although the barrier could have been bridged by Druhi’s visitors and relatives, they also have minimal English thereby widening the communication gap. According to de Moissac and Bowen (2018), language barrier negatively impacts the quality of patient care and safety. Therefore, in the case of Druhi, communication barrier may lead to clinical error as important information may not be captured hence low quality of care. Clinical errors Misdiagnosis- This involves offering a prognosis on the basis of the symptoms offered by the patient hence ending up to be false. Misdiagnosis can also result into failing to treat a patient, delaying the treatment, or even failing to conduct appropriate tests. This error is likely to occur in the case of Druhi because critical information may not be provided by the patient due to a lack of a common language. This error can result into serious health complications, death or even recurrence of the health issue. Medication reconciliation error- This involves reviewing the medical history of the patient and identifying the appropriate list of medications so as to avoid drug interactions, omissions, dosing errors and duplications (Aghajani, Ghazaeian, Mehrazin, Sistanizad and Miri 2016). Ineffective communication between Druhi and the nurse may lead to error in medication reconciliation because Druhi may only provide non-specific information that may lead to over-prescription and under- prescription, incorrect dosage and prescribing the wrong medicine. This error may result into death and severe injury of the patient. Error of documentation- to ensure therapeutic outcomes, the nurse in charge must observe the condition of the patient, the care and the treatment offered. However, due to communication barrier, the nurse may fail to record the medications administered or even poor observations that may result into negative outcomes of Druhi. It is hard for the nurse to have an accurate and factual documentation when communication is a great problem. Documentation errors can result into death, omission and even delay in treatment.Fig 2: (Kennedy 2016) Strategies •Seek help from the hospital’s trained interpreters. •Effectively collaborate with other healthcare practitioners so as to help come up with a solution (Shitu, Hassan, Aung, Kamaruzaman and Musa 2018). •Use translated health information •Seek for more clarification in case something is not clear (Murphy, Singh and Berlin 2014). Druhi Neupane’s treatmentClinical Errors Student’s Name List of References Aghajani, M.H., Ghazaeian, M., Mehrazin, H.R., Sistanizad, M. and Miri, M., 2016. Errors Related to Medication Reconciliation: A Prospective Study in Patients Admitted to the Post CCU.Iranian journal of pharmaceutical research: IJPR,15(2), p.599. Christensen, J., 2016. Medical errors may be third leading cause of death in the U.S.. CNN retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/03/health/medical-error-a-leading-cause-of-death/index.html de Moissac, D. and Bowen, S., 2018. Impact of language barriers on quality of care and patient safety for official language minority Francophones in Canada.Journal of Patient Experience, p.2374373518769008.https://doi.org/10.1177/2374373518769008 Kennedy, B., 2016. How to overcome the language barrier: Retrieved fromhttps://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/feature/how-break-through-language-barrier Murphy, D.R., Singh, H. and Berlin, L., 2014. Communication breakdowns and diagnostic errors: a radiology perspective.Diagnosis,1(4), pp.253-261. Shitu, Z., Hassan, I., Aung, M.M.T., Kamaruzaman, T.H.T. and Musa, R.M., 2018. Avoiding medication errors through effective communication in a healthcare environment.Malaysian Journal of Movement, Health & Exercise,7(1). Fig 1: (Christensen 2016)