Med Center Health Safety Snapshot – December

Your Quick Look into Safety at Med Center Health Bowling Green

At Med Center Health, safety and high reliability are more than just goals. They are our promise to every person who comes through our doors. This month, as we wrap up another year together, our Safety Snapshot brings you a holiday-themed reminder of one of the most important areas of patient safety: medication administration.

The “Rights” of Medication Administration: A Holiday Checklist for Safety

Just like making sure every gift has the right tag, the right ribbon, and gets delivered to the right home, safe medication administration requires careful attention to detail. Before giving any medication, check your list — and check it twice!

The Rights of Medication Administration

🎄 Right Patient
Verify two patient identifiers (such as name and date of birth). Santa doesn’t want gifts mixed up—and neither do we!

🎁 Right Medication
Double-check the medication name and strength. Look-alike, sound-alike medications are like similar-looking presents… easy to confuse without close attention.

⛄ Right Dose
Make sure the dose matches the order. Some patients need a “small stocking stuffer,” while others require “a bigger package.”

🛷 Right Route
Confirm how the medication is meant to be given—IV, PO, IM, topical, etc. Not every gift goes down the chimney!

✨ Right Time
Administer medications at the correct time and frequency. Even during the busy holiday season, timing matters for safe care.

🎀 Right to Refuse
Just like anyone can decline a holiday treat, patients have the right to refuse a medication. Document refusals and notify the provider.

⭐ Right Documentation
Chart promptly and accurately—so the “naughty and nice” list stays perfectly up to date.

Holiday Safety Reminders

  • Take a pause for the cause—even elves stop to triple-check their toy lists.
  • Use bar-code scanning for added safety.
  • Report medication errors or near misses—each report helps us improve, just like elves fixing workshop glitches.
  • Support one another with reminders and teamwork—because safe care is a gift we give every day.

Thank you for your dedication, attention to detail, and commitment to patient safety throughout 2025. Your vigilance ensures that every patient experience is safe, reliable, and filled with care—this season and all year long.

Reliably yours,

Denise Kaetzel, MHA, MSN, RN, CENP – Executive Director of Quality and Patient Experience

Kaitlin Banasiewicz, PhD, MSN, RN – Director of Patient Safety and Clinical Research

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