NURS FPX4020 . 1 1.docm NURS-FPX 4020 Enhancing Quality and Safety Capella University

NURS FPX4020 .   1 1.docm  NURS-FPX 4020  Enhancing Quality and Safety Capella University  Improving Quality of Care and Patient Safety Enhancing Quality and Safety   Enhancing Quality and Safety  Medication errors are the most common medical errors and can potentially cause detrimental effects to patients as well as increase hospital costs. In this paper, I will discuss a current issue in clinical practice that is a medication administration safety risk and will identify quality improvement initiatives to assist in prevention. I will  also discuss the numerous factors leading to medication errors and how nurses can help coordinate care while working directly with stakeholders to increase patient safety.  As  the charge nurse on a busy Medical Surgical floor, I understand the  importance of preventing medication errors with the goal of providing safe and quality care. The administration of one of the highest-risk intravenous (IV) medications, heparin, is a significant medication safety issue. This  medication is an anticoagulant which can cause severe harm to patients when not administered correctly and monitored efficiently.  Factors Leading to Error  Many  factors  can  lead  to  errors  during  the infusion  of  IV   heparin.  Johnson, Miltner & Wilson (2018) discuss  several factors that lead to errors with heparin use, including inadequate  monitoring of infusions  due to lack of nursing communication during  change-of-shift reports. Frequent  checking  of  anti-coagulation levels  are  a crucial