Proper medication administration is an important part of care homes and nursing homes. A streamlined medication administration system not only ensures correct medication doses to the patients but also decreases the potential risk of medication errors. Choosing an integrated system such as the eMAR medication system can make it easier for caregivers to seamlessly manage their documentation of data. It lowers the hassle around working with piles of paper and saves enough time for caregivers to work efficiently in giving better care to the patients.
Here are certain basic guidelines that must be followed without fail
- Wash your hands before and after administering medication.
- Make sure that your work area is well-lit and free from distractions.
- Always follow the 8 Rights of medication administration.
- Before administering any medication, always remember to check for allergies.
- Make sure you administer medications under the supervision of a licensed practitioner who is authorised to prescribe medications.
- Refrain from giving medication if there is a doubt.
- Try to know everything possible about medicine including its side effects before administering it to the patient.
- Always remember to check the expiration date on the medication label before giving it to a patient.
- Never administer a drug if it looks different from its normal appearance. Any changes in colour, structure, consistency, or odour may be an indication that the medicine is outdated, contaminated, or stored incorrectly.
- Do not rely solely on memory when it comes to administering medications. Instead, check the MAR sheet for correct dosage, route and time.
- Administer medications as scheduled. Always prepare the medications on your own. Never allow someone to prepare the medication you have to administer.
- Never leave a medication unattended once you have already prepared it.
- Be careful that you don’t drop or spill the medication while taking it to the patient.
- Be with the patient while administering an oral drug. Make sure that the patient has properly swallowed the drug.
- Before giving liquid medicine to a patient, shake it well to mix the precipitate content. Precipitation makes the solid content separate from a solution if allowed to stand.
- While pouring a liquid medication, hold the measuring device at eye level. Read the correct amount at the lowest level of the meniscus, which is the top surface of the column of liquid.
- While pouring a medication, make sure that the dispensing cup is clean.
- Keep all the drugs in a safe and secure storage place.
- The area where drugs are stored should be loaded and have limited access.
- Always read the label for instructions before administering medication.
Recording medication administration is also an important factor to ensure continuity of care for the patient. In the UK, care facilities and nursing homes are moving from MAR sheets to eMAR.
eMAR medication system benefits
- It gives access to authorised individuals to view resident records of all provider encounters and laboratory results, transcription notes, radiologic images, and so forth
- You can use customised templates to make examination notes, procedures and review of systems.
- It helps in inventory management. By linking the software to a pharmacy, you can directly place order.
- It flags any drug interactions, contraindications or allergies related to the resident.
- It gives immediate access to the resident record to providers and staff members.
- It is convenient because records can be easily retrieved. They are never lost or misplaced. Data in eMAR is securely backed up.
- It reduces the manual paperwork.
- It gives the option to store medical charts for as long as necessary.
- You can set reminders for follow-up so that residents do not miss any dose.
- It provides a more efficient method of signing charts and thus, helping in setting accountability.
- You can print or email a part or the whole chart to a referring provider easily.
More and more care homes in the UK are embracing the eMAR medication system over paper-based MAR as it ensures medication is administered reliably. To know how eMAR can help your care home, book a demo.
