The 5 Rights: A Nurse’s Guide to Avoiding Texas Hospital Pharmacy Errors
Medication errors in Texas hospitals are possibly the most terrifying of drug mistakes. Patients entrust their lives to medical professionals when they undergo surgery, recuperate from accidents, or even have a routine checkup. Unfortunately, most people will automatically trust these people, taking any medication they are handed or bracing for the sting of a shock—all hoping that the nurses and doctors know what they are doing.
Nurses have a particularly tough responsibility: they must administer regular medications to many different admitted patients. Since it would be fairly easy to confuse one patient’s drugs with another, nurses are taught to double-check every dose with a system known as The Five Rights.
These five steps should be taken before any medication is administered:
Right patient. The patient’s identity has to be confirmed, in more than one way, such as asking his name, checking his ID bracelet for his birth date, and confirming the room number on the chart.
Right drug. Nurses must confirm the name of the drug and its intended use before medicating each patient.
Right dose. Nurses have to check the dosage instructions three times: when drawing or pouring, with another nurse, and before administering.
Right time. Even if the medication and dosage are correct, the medication may have an adverse effect at the wrong time of day,such as before the patient has eaten or a certain length of time after a procedure.
Right route. Hospital drugs can be administered several different ways, including inhalants, injections, IV and tablets. Nurses have to check the route of each and make sure all oral doses have been safely swallowed before leaving a patient’s room.
As experienced Texas pharmacy attorneys, we know that nurses never intend to harm anyone. However, due to the high-risk hospital environment, it is never wrong for you to ask questions about your care—or to seek compensation when you have been injured by a hospital’s mistake.
If you or someone you love was injured as a result of a Houston drug error, we can help you receive compensation with the advice in our FREE book, “How to Make Pharmacies Pay for Injuries Caused by Medication Errors.” If you wish to speak to a board-certified Houston drug error attorney, call Kennedy Hodges at 888-526-7616 today for a free consultation.
