As a medical professional, you deal with medicines all the time. Plenty of drug-related accidents have been reported. While some of the accidents are minor, others are lethal and often result in the death of the patient. Did you know you can prevent the accidents from occurring? Here are some of the things you should do:
Buy the right medications
Sometimes the accidents happen since the drugs are poisonous. This happens when you buy poor quality drugs. To avoid poisoning your patients, buy from a reputable seller. This calls for you to do your research and find the reputable dealer. As rule of thumb, avoid a cheap supplier, and he/she might be supplying you substandard medications that will hurt your patients. Stick with a quality supplier. While he/she might be expensive, he/she will be worth it.
Label the medications properly
After you have bought the medications from the suppliers, and stored them in a safe and dry area. The next step would be to label them correctly with administration instructions. This avoids confusion in the event another staff member decides to give the medication. If the patient has to carry the medications home, advise him/her on how to properly take the medications.
Watch out for allergies
This is a common mistake made even by the most experienced medical professionals, which often results in injuries. Before you administer the drugs, enquire from the patient whether he/she is allergic to a given medication or ingredient. This helps you give the right drug thus reducing the chances of poisoning.
Don't 'treat' side effects
When the patients are taking the medications, they will always have side effects. For example, they might have stomachaches, diarrhea, headaches and many others. Depending on the way the patient is explaining it, you might think that he/she is suffering from another condition thus forcing you to prescribe additional medications. Which are unnecessary.
When you treat side effects with other medications, you put the patient at the risk of developing a reaction as the drugs react. To avoid this, when a patient comes with a condition, you should take your time to understand the history and what might be the cause. If the cause is a side effect, don't prescribe any more medications.
Conclusion
These are some of the things you should know to avoid drug poisoning. Always ensure that you buy high-quality medications from a reputable store. Also, be cautious of how you administer them.
Buy the right medications
Sometimes the accidents happen since the drugs are poisonous. This happens when you buy poor quality drugs. To avoid poisoning your patients, buy from a reputable seller. This calls for you to do your research and find the reputable dealer. As rule of thumb, avoid a cheap supplier, and he/she might be supplying you substandard medications that will hurt your patients. Stick with a quality supplier. While he/she might be expensive, he/she will be worth it.
Label the medications properly
After you have bought the medications from the suppliers, and stored them in a safe and dry area. The next step would be to label them correctly with administration instructions. This avoids confusion in the event another staff member decides to give the medication. If the patient has to carry the medications home, advise him/her on how to properly take the medications.
Watch out for allergies
This is a common mistake made even by the most experienced medical professionals, which often results in injuries. Before you administer the drugs, enquire from the patient whether he/she is allergic to a given medication or ingredient. This helps you give the right drug thus reducing the chances of poisoning.
Don't 'treat' side effects
When the patients are taking the medications, they will always have side effects. For example, they might have stomachaches, diarrhea, headaches and many others. Depending on the way the patient is explaining it, you might think that he/she is suffering from another condition thus forcing you to prescribe additional medications. Which are unnecessary.
When you treat side effects with other medications, you put the patient at the risk of developing a reaction as the drugs react. To avoid this, when a patient comes with a condition, you should take your time to understand the history and what might be the cause. If the cause is a side effect, don't prescribe any more medications.
Conclusion
These are some of the things you should know to avoid drug poisoning. Always ensure that you buy high-quality medications from a reputable store. Also, be cautious of how you administer them.