Analysis of Patient Safety Improvement in Medicine Dispensing

This report delves into the critical aspects of patient safety within the context of medicine dispensing. It begins by defining the dispensing process and highlighting the importance of rational drug use to prevent adverse effects and drug interactions. The report emphasizes the pharmacist's role in ensuring patient safety, including validating prescriptions and maintaining accurate medication records. It explores the challenges associated with medication errors, such as those occurring during prescribing and dispensing, and their potential consequences, including patient harm and mortality. The report also examines the application of quality improvement methodologies within community pharmacies, the impact of human factors on dispensing errors, and the significance of medication reconciliation to reduce discrepancies. The report's aim is to analyze methods to improve patient safety while dispensing medicines, with objectives including evaluating the role of dispensing medicines in patient safety and identifying challenges. The project questions address the needs and requirements of dispensing medicines, the main role of dispensing medicines in patient safety, and ways to improve patient safety.

Improving patient safety
whilst dispensing medicine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
Dispensing of medicine can be defined as process of preparing and giving the drug to a
named a person on the basis of prescription. It is to be consider as program or event to improve
rational use which have often been concentrated on ensuring habits of prescription. It is
overlooking dispensing and patient’s use of medicines. To avoid the drug interaction and its
adverse side effect (Aboneh and et.al., 2020). Sometimes, it has been strictly follow the
regulation on dispense of drug which required. Moreover, treatment of condition such as chronic
diseases which require to intake of medication but it highly differ from one patient to another.
Pharmacists allows to follow the regulation and conduct multiple test, afterwards, it has been
represented the report to other physician but they do not authorised to prescribed. In this way,
pharmacies are necessary to maintain or control the record of all medicine dispensed (Paulino,
Thomas and Cooper, 2019). In order to keep record of any type of intervention which has made,
judge on the basis of certain aspects. The British National formulary is responsible for
distribution of document related medication to community and other healthcare staff members.
Patient safety refers to preventing the errors when it comes to their entire care provided by
medical professional. It means that preventing adverse reaction when a person take such
medications. It can happen for variety of reason where patient may not take care about their
safety and security (Carayon and Wooldridge, 2020). They were not taking the medication
according to the instruction of professional. In this way, it may fail to make correct diagnosis,
will change their medication as per requirements. Initially, professional are validated the
prescription and make sure that understanding the overall concept of dispensing medicines.
The pharmacists has performed the significant role which has proven to improve various
result or outcome in regards of patient health condition. Sometimes, it may include patient
safety, improved diseases, drugs therapy management, improve quality of life. WHO has been
developed the conceptual framework in order to build an effective standardized taxonomy for
safety of patient (Galt, Fuji and Shah, 2019). Pharmacist have a crucial system level role in term
of planning and also leading medication safety program or event which initiatives towards health
care improvement. It may be include the risk specific protocol for providing high alert –
medications in order to identify, evaluating high risk processes (Paulino, Thomas and Cooper,
2019). The complexity of medication is that prescribing or delivering process which make it
difficult to give better advantage, effect of pharmacist on adverse result or outcome directly but
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the involvement has been representing the reduce errors. In order to enhance the patient
monitoring across different settings.
As medical professional has delivered the better health care service by using dispending of
medicine. In order to find out the complex nature of medication and its increase errors prone
situation. During prescribing process, it should be increased the errors in the process
approximately 5% to 7% in prescriptions which depending on the setting (Holmström and et.al.,
2019). Moreover, this type of medication errors reports to health care system where they can
easily monitor and analysed current situation. According to report, it has been identified that
16% of actual patient harm and 0.8% resulted in the death or other server harmful condition
(Paulino, Thomas and Cooper, 2019). However, there are various unintended discrepancies in
patient discharged from the hospitals. In this way, it is affecting the 43% of prescription in
primary care (Paulino, Thomas and Cooper, 2019). The problem with medicine is that after
hospital discharge of patient that associated with adverse health consequences.
The research project will describe about the quality improvement event in patient safety
through medication. The project is focused on the dispending medicines within community
pharmacy which mainly assumed as a process for required the highly quality of reliability. The
pharmacy team will be combined with non-technical skills, clinical and technical in which
providing the better quality of medicines. These are becoming safe and effective for patients. The
research estimate that approximately 3.32% of dispensed item may include as an error (Paulino,
Thomas and Cooper, 2019). Although it can be identified the level of accuracy, it could be
assumed to be very high, errors that have developed as serious consequences among patient. The
most of pharmacists are responsible for recognising the patient safety as well as health. The
research project has been developed the system which provide as guard against the errors in
order to reduce their level. The report will discuss about the use of dispending medicines where
how they will support for patient in term of safety. Furthermore, it also facilitate the best quality
of improvement methodology.
Aim
The main aim of this report is “To Analyse ways in which Patient safety can be improved
whilst dispensing medicines.”
Objectives
Main objectives of this report are:
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 To analyse need and requirement of dispensing medicines
 To evaluate role of dispensing medicines in patient safety.
 To analyses ways in which dispensing medicines can be focused upon in order to improve
patient safety.
 To identify major challenges associated with provision of dispensing medicines to patients.
Project Questions
Main project questions of this report are:
 What are the need and requirement of dispensing medicines?
 What is the main role of dispensing medicines in patient safety?
 What are the ways in which dispensing medicines can be focused upon in order to improve
patient safety?
 What are the major challenges associated with provision of dispensing medicines to patients?
Background
In health care services it is necessary to provide high quality services to patients. Also, there is
need to ensure patient safety so that they are diagnose properly. There are several types of risk
which can occur in it and this can lead to affect on patient health. Basically, in dispensing of
medicine there is improvement required as here patient needs differ from one another and there
are many other risk which can arise. Besides that, it is found that there no proper procedure of
dispensing medicine. Hence, patient safety is in danger. is very important to ensure patient safety
in hospital. For a health care worker patient safety is his or her priority role and responsibility.
There are many ways through which patient safety is ensured. It depends on process or method
which is followed by health professionals. Moreover, there are many ways safety is managed and
ensured. Patient safety consists of various aspects which are to be followed such as medicine,
health, cleanliness, etc these all measures are to be taken in regard of keeping patient safety.
Also, it is essential to improve patient safety as well so that they are able to recover quickly. The
improvement needs to be identified so that accordingly changes are made. It highly depends on
health care professional that how patient safety is enhanced. However, for this as well there are
many ways or method which can be implemented. It is necessary to find out and implement
those so that safety is improved.
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Improving patient safety is consider as key aspects in the hospital setting and other
pharmacists that have been exploring the technologies. In order to achieve their specific goal and
objective. There is no doubt that medication can enhance the efficiency or distribution but their
capacity to reduce the medication errors (Seaton and et.al., 2019). It has depends on the various
factor which including implement the system. Dispensing of medicine is consider as a process
which help for providing flexibility, reliability but pharmacy has little control. It has
accomplished by setting up clinical indication at the time of specific drugs. It facilitate the
medical professional to improve the accessibility on the patient care service. In particularly, it
has been developed the emergency case where patient extremely suffered from against diseases.
In recently, many countries recommend or require hospitals to implement the concept of
medication reconciliation, transfer and also discharge for patient after reducing the medication
errors. The discharge reconciliation has been considered as highest priority as expected to
minimize risk of adverse program caused by failure to interact with changes. It has made in the
healthcare community which produced the drugs, medicines (Shah, Galt and Fuji, 2019). Indeed,
there are discrepancies in the community where medical professional use medication while
increasing the risk of adverse event.
In past decade, Pharmacy professional has been invented the concept of dispensing
medicine that consider as a process but require reliability. In this way, it has developed the safe
guard against errors. In order to minimize risk of errors and give better facilities of patient in
term of heath care safety (Shah, Galt and Fuji, 2019). On the other hand, it has been estimated
the dispending errors rate in hospitals approximately 0.02% to 2.7% of dispensed medicine
(Shah, Galt and Fuji, 2019). The pharmacy community also focused on the estimation which has
been changed over past years. In 2007, there are 48-million prescriptions addressed and also
dispensed in the primary care. As a result, it has been adjusted within 5,223 medication errors
reports being submitted by NRLS (national reporting and leading system). Therefore, various
pharmacies community figure out the situation or condition where identified the expected result
from research in error rates.
As focused on the different factors such as mental overload, distraction and also
dispending with categorized attention as per condition in which increase the dispensing error
rates. The condition highlight the significance of human factor in community pharmacy practice.
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Initially, professional has identified the current health condition of patient and then move to use
dispending medication for providing better health care services (Paulino, Thomas and Cooper,
2019). Human factor related to their health care which consider as approach to enhance clinical
performance through understanding the effect of team work, task, culture and equipment (Shah,
Galt and Fuji, 2019). These are helping for determine the behavior as well as abilities of patient.
It has foundations in term of physiology, psychology and sociology and understanding why
errors has made and how to prevent them. National healthcare system has been slow to follow
the safety aspects during critical condition while adapting the human factor. In particularly so in
primary care. On the other hand, Pharmacies community being set up their project while contract
with NHS. In order to recognize and isolated in term of primary care which become consequence
of contractual obligation.
Since, medication orders are being dispensed and then delivered for medical professional.
In certain circumstances and setting by both pharmacists and nurses which involved in the
process of dispending (Shah, Galt and Fuji, 2019). They have been predominately examined the
role of dispending medicines where pharmacist plays important role in preventing the prescribing
errors. During past years, it has examined the medication errors, identifying the rate of 60%
mainly in the form of wrong rate, time and dose. In this way, it has identified the death caused by
medication errors which has reported to FDA from 1993 to 1998 (Shah, Galt and Fuji, 2019).
One of the most challenging as well as time-consuming aspects of medication
reconciliation which become reliable documenting the community drugs. In order to put extra
efforts for improving the efficiencies and several creating solution that have been implemented.
Afterwards, it has been prescribed in the community and further doing more testing. By using
drug and drop function, clinicians, pharmacists that have developed the community drugs and list
in the consultation with different patients. These type of initiative have impact on the process of
community drug listing. In order to find out that 75% patient discharged from hospitals (Paulino,
Thomas and Cooper, 2019). It is the best process of medical dispensing where selecting right
drug for patient on the basis of requirement as well need. There are several challenges as well
which is faced by nurse and doctors in providing medicine. This may be that due to change in
patients needs they have to give them
METHODOLOGY
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Project plan
Project plan can be defined as an important document that majorly contains main scope
and objective of the project. It is also represented in the form of Gantt chart. It is one of the most
effective way with the help of which minute project details can be communicated to stakeholders
(Varajão, Colomo-Palacios and Silva, 2017). It is one of the most important process of project
management which helps in identifying overall output of project planning process. There are
various kinds of frameworks or models that can work as a fundamental knowledge for managing
and planning a project. One of the main frameworks that can be used for project planning is
PMBOK. It works as a fundamental knowledge for project planning and management of a
project. There are 10 knowledge areas of PMBOK but major knowledge areas that together helps
in effective planning are cost, scope, quality required, time duration, communication, resources
required and risk associated with the project.
Figure 1 main aspects of project plan
Cost: Cost is one of the major and most important part of a project that should be focused upon
within a project (Abyad, 2018). It is important for the project manager to estimate and define
overall cost associated with the project in which whole project will be completed. This cost
includes, cost of resources, risk management and mitigation and many more. Cost associated
with a project arises need of defining and controlling project cost in a timely manner for the
success of the project this is majorly because every project consumes resources, in order to
maintain value of the project investment required to be done in a project is required to be
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maintained. Cost planning of a project includes resource planning, cost estimating, budgeting,
and control. Cost associated with this project is £500.
Scope: Every project is required to have defined paraments or scope by defining project goal,
task, deadlines, cost etc. After defining overall scope of the project, this scope is further broken
down into sub- parts and is managed in a proper manner with the help of work breakdown
structure or WBS (Gonçalves and et. al., 2017). Management and planning of a scope majorly
includes planning, definition, WBS, verification and control. For this project, project manager
will focus upon secondary qualitative research. Main scope of this project is collection of all the
secondary information in order to identify ways in which Patient safety can be improved whilst
dispensing medicines.
Quality required: One of the most important aspect of a project without which defined value of
the project cannot be achieved is planning and maintenance of overall quality of the project.
Each and every project involves work products or deliverables within a project. Meeting of these
deliverables as per the project objectives helps in maintaining overall quality of the project.
Maintenance of a performance standard within a project helps in maintaining high quality of a
project (Jamali and Oveisi, 2016). Quality of a project majorly revolves around three major
aspects that are: quality planning, quality assurance, and quality control. Quality maintenance of
a project can only be done by maintaining use of reliable and appropriate data or information. In
order to maintain overall quality of this project all the secondary information or data has been
collected from authentic and reliable data sources. Most of the articles, research data, journals
etc. have been collected from Google scholar and are not more than 5 years old.
Time duration: A proper and effective project plan also have defined time period in which
whole project will be completed (Gonçalves and Von Wangenheim, 2016). This time schedule
includes defined beginning and a definite ending date. In order to complete the project in defined
time period it is important to manage scheduled time as per the overall schedule of the project by
bifurcating and dividing time period for all the sub tasks which further helps in implementing
whole project in a timely manner. management and planning of time schedule of the project
includes definition, sequencing, resource and duration estimating, schedule development, and
schedule control. The overall time duration required to complete this project is 8 weeks.
Communication: Another important aspect of project planning is communication which can
become one of the main reasons for success or failure of a project. Effective communication plan
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helps in maintaining proper flow of information among all internal and external stakeholders of a
project (Varajão, Colomo-Palacios and Silva, 2017). It is important to develop a communication
plan for project because a project comes into touch of various people both directly and indirectly
which can impact final outcome of a project. Communication plan for a project majorly focuses
upon information distribution, stakeholder management and performance reporting. In order to
maintain proper and effective communication in this project weekly meetings after completion of
every milestone was conducted. In these meetings of the main stakeholders of the project were
involved in which current progress of the project, requirements, next milestone required to be
achieved, issues faced and solution to it were discussed in detailed manner.
Resources required: Another important aspect of project planning is resources required within a
project. Without availability of proper and effective resources it becomes quite difficult for a
project manager to complete a project in a timely manner. There were two major type of
resources used in this project, first was secondary resources for collection of secondary data or
information from newspapers, articles, books, scholar papers and many more. And second type
of resources required were human resource. Management and planning of human resources
helped in completing the project in a proper manner, identifying issues associated with the
project and finding solution for the project in a proper manner. Secondary resources were used
for collection of data or information related to identification of ways in which Patient safety can
be improved whilst dispensing medicines.
Risk: One of the most important aspect of project planning is risk identification and management
without which success chances of a project can reduce and it can move towards failure. It is
important for project manager to identify risk associated with project that can arise and impact
overall success of a project. There are various kinds of unexpected events that can be faced by
team members of a project. Some of the most comm type of risk identified that can occur within
this project are: Communication gap, Miss management, Loss of leadership control and sudden
budget rise. Due to communication gap project requirements cannot be communicated within all
stakeholders in a proper manner. miss management is one of the main risks that can become
main reason of project failure. Loss of leadership is a common risk that can occur within a proper
at any time. In order to reduce changes of occurring of this project it is important for leaders to
adopt effective leadership style which is suitable for the project. This will help in reducing
changes of occurring of this risk. There are various reasons because of which rise in budget risk
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can occur. It is important to continuously monitor and control scope of the project so that rise in
budget risk can be controlled or mitigated.
These are some of the main factors that are required to be focused upon in project
planning. These aspects helps the project manager in planning project so that it is comes in a
proper manner within defined scope, time, cost and quality. This proposed project plan will not
only help in implementation of a project but will also help in time to time evolution of the
project. For this PMBOK framework has been used because it helps in including all the main and
important aspects of a project.
Gantt chart
Gantt chart can be simply defined as a visual view of all the task and activities of a
project schedule within the defined duration of time. It helps in defining milestones of sub- task
that are required to be achieved. It also helps the project manager to manage overall size of the
project in a proper manner. not only this, it also helps in identifying start and end date of a
project with a simple visual view.
Activity 1st
week
2nd
week
3rd
week
4th
week
5th
week
6th
week
7th
week
8th
week
Identify research
topic
Formation of Aim
and objectives
Methodology
Impact of change
Reflective
Commentary
Conclusion
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Review and
Submission
Impact of change
In the context of patient safety it can be said that it plays an important role as it prevents patients
and all staff against injury and workplace accident which may sometimes cause death. So, it is
important for healthcare organizations to implement some effective safety measurement tools
and policies as well and make sure that all patients and staff members are following all
guidelines of policies (Mbonye and et.al., 2016). This change and an effective leadership
program can have several changes within an organization. Dispensing process of medicines in
patient safety refers a procedure of preparing as well as giving medicine to a named person on
the basis of prescription. This change and an effective patient safety can have several changes
which include:
Improve image: When healthcare organizations use effective tools of safety measurement
then they are more likely to prevent their patients and all involved members which motivate
them. Motivated and valued employees focus on providing effective and qualitative services to
patient which improve image of the company. The less injury and accidents happen in an
organization the more images it improves.
Reducing staff turnover; When an organization or healthcare companies focus on safety of
patients and staff then they are more likely to stay with the company and support companies in
accomplishing their goals. One of the main reasons of staff turnover in healthcare organization is
poor quality of services, dealing with critical patients, work load and lack of workplace safety.
Workplace and patients safety encourage staff members to concentrate on their functions and it
makes them feel pleased at workplace (Cole and Paithankar, 2018). So, it can be said that this is
one of the main positive impact of making changes within an organization.
Improve quality of services: It is one of the main aims of all healthcare organizations is to
improve healthcare services to patients and improve their health in a timely and effective
manner. They also want to reduce patients stay at hospitals and healthcare organizations because
it indicates that patients are receiving effective and qualitative healthcare services. When
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