Successful completion of a competency-based insulin pen administration checklist along with successful demonstration of a mock insulin injection would be required before a nurse could administer insulin to a patient using the insulin pen devices. During this training period, all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians would also need to be trained how to use, label, dispense, and store the insulin pens (Davis, Christensen, Nystrom, Foral and Destache, 2008).
Another option would be for hospitals to only use insulin pens that are equipped with a safety needle that provides a passive safety feature that automatically engages after an injection is administered. The safety feature helps to prevent accidental needle sticks and needle reuse and is locked into place throughout needle disposal. The safety needle complies with U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines and appears on OSHA's list of approved safety-engineered sharps devices (Davis, Christensen, Nystrom, Foral and Destache, 2008).
All three of the solutions that have been proposed are viable solutions to the insulin pen problems that are currently happening in hospitals. An education program along with hands on training would be the easiest implemented and have the best possible outcomes for patient safety and quality control. Nurses need to understand the importance of using the product correctly and then need to be shown how to use it correctly. They then need to be held accountable for making sure that the proper procedures are being carried out in order to ensure the safest patient experience possible. The solution of a hospital only using a certain type of insulin pens is always an option, but would involve a specific cost that may not be feasible for all hospitals to take on.
Research has shown that if only insulin pens are dispensed during an entire hospital stay compared to insulin vials and syringes there is a cost saving of $36 per patient. Improved patient satisfaction and medication administration at home has been seen based on the method used in the hospital at home. Thos who were given insulin pens while in the hospital where more likely to continue their therapy compared with patients who received...
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Bibliography Mendes, IA, Trevizan, MA, Noqueira, MS, Mayashida, M. (2000) Humanistic Approach to Nursing Communication: The Case of hospitalized Adolescent Female. Rev Bras Enferm (2000) Jan-Mar, 53(1):7-13. Williams, Carol A. & Gossett, Monette T. (2001) Nursing Communication: Advocacy for the Patient or Physician" Clinical Nursing Research Vol. 10 No. 3 332-340 (2001) Online available at http://cnr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/10/3/332. Colon-Emeric, Cathleen (2006) Patterns of Medical and Nursing Staff Communication in Nursing Homes: Implications and Insights From Complexity
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