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12.12.2: Procedure- Checking the Right Person (Patient)

  • Page ID
    67767
    • Erin O'Hara-Leslie, Amdra C. Wade, Kimberly B. McLain and Tera Doty-Blance, SUNY Broome
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    1. Wash your hands.
    2. Read the container label on the medication bottle.
    3. Check the name on the label to make sure it is the same as the patient’s.
    4. Check the name on the label against the name on the Care Plan and against the patient’s ID band if they are wearing one. If the patient can respond, ask them to tell you what their name is.
    5. If the patient’s name is the same as what is written on the label proceed to hand the bottle to the patient and/or assist with administration as trained and ordered on the Care Plan.
    6. If the names are not the same, STOP! Do not proceed further.
    7. Contact a supervisor for further instructions.
    8. Explain the reason for this to the patient. Patient safety is the number one priority. If the medication bottle does not have the patient’s correct name, this puts the patient in danger of taking someone else’s medication.
    9. Record and report any problem about the medication in question to a supervisor.

    This page titled 12.12.2: Procedure- Checking the Right Person (Patient) is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Erin O'Hara-Leslie, Amdra C. Wade, Kimberly B. McLain and Tera Doty-Blance, SUNY Broome (OpenSUNY) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.