5 Benefits of In-House Medication Audits

Care homes and hospitals are very crucial and important to any community. They are instrumental in saving lives of many. Thus it’s important that in-house medication audits should be done periodically for them using any of the medication audit tools for care homes. Some of the benefits of doing this are -

Ensuring compliance with outcomes

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 requires any care home to assess their service against the Essential Standards of quality and safety. To attain compliance, one must demonstrate how and audit is done and monitors all aspects of medication continually. These audits help you get assured that the staff is adhering to all correct procedures as laid down in the policy. It ensures that all patients are getting the most appropriate medication at the right time and by a competent staff.

Evidence of competence

Simply medication administration training does not guarantee safety or minimizes the potential danger that an incorrect administration of medication can have on any individual. Without the audit, you simply cannot be assured and certain that the staff would be following the correct procedures as specified in the national standards. They eliminate chances of an error by assessing the competency of staff administering medication on an ongoing basis as well as taking corrective steps.

Preventing and reducing errors

The audit facilitates the checking of records and individual supplies of medication which helps in easy identification of potential as well as actual errors. Incomplete or inaccurate records are a good indication that something more needs to be done to prevent errors from occurring. You need to be certain that your staff recognizes the ‘clues’ on a MAR sheet that can possibly prevent errors.

These audits are also perfect to demonstrate your accountability to all and help you develop and train your staff for a flawless operation.