Med Center Health Safety Snapshot – October

Your Quick Look into Safety at Med Center Health

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 Safety Snapshot highlights a Joint Commission National Performance Goalfocused onsafe medication management.

Medication Management

The Joint Commission emphasizes that organizations must have reliable processes to safely prescribe, prepare, dispense, administer, and monitor medications. Preventing medication errors requires standardized practices, effective communication, accurate patient identification, and ongoing monitoring throughout the medication-use process.

What This Means for Daily Practice

  • Use two patient identifiers before administering any medication
    • Ask the patient to state their full name and date of birth whenever possible
    • Match the patient’s response to the medication administration record (MAR) and wristband
    • Never use room number or location as an identifier
  • Follow the Rights of Medication Administration
    • Verify the right patient, medication, dose, route, time, and documentation
    • Pause and resolve any discrepancies before administering the medication
  • Label all medications and solutions when they are removed from their original packaging
    • Never leave unlabeled medications or solutions unattended
  • Perform medication reconciliation during transitions of care
    • Compare home medications with current orders
    • Clarify discrepancies with the prescribing provider
    • Ensure patients receive an updated medication list at discharge when applicable
  • Communicate clearly about medications
    • Read back verbal or telephone orders when required
    • Escalate questions or concerns before administering a medication
  • Monitor patients for therapeutic effects and adverse reactions
    • Reassess after administering high-risk medications as appropriate
    • Notify the provider promptly of unexpected patient responses
    • File an incident report for adverse drug reactions or near misses via the MCH Portal
  • Document medications accurately and promptly
    • Record administration in the MAR
    • Document omissions, delays, refusals, and patient education as appropriate

Why It Matters

Medication errors remain one of the most common causes of preventable patient harm. Many errors occur during transitions of care, communication breakdowns, or failures to verify critical information. By consistently following standardized medication safety practices, we reduce the risk of harm, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen our culture of high reliability.

Together, we make safety a reality. Thank you for being an essential part of our culture of safety!

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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