Medication Administration in Care Homes and Electronic Medication System: Useful Insights
Administering medication in care homes is a multi-step process and this requires caregiving staff to be extra attentive and careful. There are a number of important factors that the caring staff need to keep in mind when administering medication. If you are a care home manager, here’s a useful guide for you to help your caregiving staff administer drugs safely.
Better communication during the transfer of residents: Medication errors often happen when elderly patients are transferred to care homes from hospitals. Designating a person to ensure proper documentation and transfer of data about elderly patients' medications can reduce these errors. Medication reconciliation works best when the residents, family members, carer, pharmacist and other health care practitioners are involved.
Have an effective medication policy in place: There should be strong and effective SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that make it clear the person responsible for correctly administering the medicines. These SOPs should be reviewed from time to time so that the best practices can be incorporated and they are up to date with legal compliance. The policy should include information about residents’ medicines and up-to-date medical records. Along with this, if there have been any problems with medication, then that should be reported, documented and reviewed. Procedures regarding ordering, storing, disposing of medication should also be recorded. If caregiving staff needs training for administering a medication that should be provided to them and documented.
Keep up-to-date records: As stated in the medication policy, important details such as :
resident details
care plan
medication administration
known allergies to medication
that are communicated over the phone or email should be well-documented. Transfer papers and a summary of medications that have been administered outside of the care homes should also be part of the records.
Caregiving staff should have adequate training: Medication should only be administered if prescribed by a doctor and is mentioned in a resident’s care plan. Caregiving staff administering the medication should be trained and competent to do so. When administering medication, caregivers need to remember the Rights of Administration - Right resident, right medicine, right route, right dose, right time, right documentation, right response and the right to refuse. All cases of medicine-related incidents should be recorded, even the 'near misses'. Effort should also be made to find ways to prevent them from happening again.
We hope this guide helps you provide the best possible care to residents in your care home. Automating the medication administration process is a great starting point to bring in operational efficiency. Just like many care homes in the UK, you too can benefit from eMAR, an electronic medication system and reduce the risk of medication errors.
Book an eMAR demo today
Electronic MAR sheets are a reliable and accurate means of streamlining the medication administration process. The system can be easily customised to accommodate your care home’s particular requirements while still being compliant within the social care sector. To book a demo, visit here.