When administering or ingesting medications, it is vital to remember the “Five Rights” of medication safety. Checking to make sure all “Five Rights” are in place before you give your patient a medication will help keep your patient safe and free from harm.
The “Five Rights” are:
1. Right Medication
Is this the medication the provider ordered?
2. Right Dose
How may milliliters, tablets, or does are to be given or taken?
3. Right Time
What time of day should the medication be taken?
4. Right Route
Should the medication be given by mouth, via feeding tube, or is it an injectable medication?
5. Right Patient
Is the medication for this patient or is it for someone else?
Medication errors are frequently the result of failing to check these “Five Rights”. Giving medications is an act that needs to be done carefully and taken seriously by both the medical professionals and the patients. adhering to this five rights at all time will reduce medication errors and make chasing zero a much more easier task.