AN OVERVIEW OF NURSES AND PHARMACIST ROLES IN MONITORING AND SAFETY HIGH ALERT MEDICATIONS USED INPATIENT

Medication errors (MEs) are unintended failures in the drug treatment process that can occur during prescription, dispensing, storing, preparation or administration of medications. High alert medications (HAMs) are defined as those medications that bear the highest risk of causing significant patient harm when used incorrectly, either due to their serious adverse events or to a narrow therapeutic window. Nurses are responsible for administration of HAMs; incorrect administration can have a significant clinical outcome. Nurses play a crucial role in the safety of medicines management during transitional care. Therefore, they should be empowered and more involved in medicines management initiatives in the healthcare system. Patient safety and avoidance of medication errors during transitional care require that medicines management becomes a multidisciplinary collaboration with effective communication between healthcare providers.