Medication Errors in an ICU Unit

Medication Errors -- Including Look-Alike and Sound-Alike Drugs -- in an ICU Unit

Medication errors can and do occur in the ICU unit, and they often come from look-alike and sound-alike medications that can easily get mixed up. When a nurse or other health care professional gives a medication to a patient, that professional should be absolutely certain the medication is the right one, and in the right dosage (Helmons, Dalton, & Daniels, 2012). Unfortunately, that due diligence does not always take place, and people who want and need the proper medications do not always get them (Helmons, Dalton, & Daniels, 2012). Especially in an ICU, when patients are dealing with critical injuries or sicknesses, an incorrect, missing, or wrongly added medication could result in the worsening of a patient's condition or even the death of that patient (Athanasakis, 2012). In addition to medications...
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