Why is medication management important?

Meticulous medication management is vital to the performance of every health and social care organisation.

Patients rely on the medication prescribed by healthcare professionals to minimise pain and discomfort, alleviate or manage symptoms, and help them to live a more comfortable life.

All health and social care organisations that deal with patient medication require medication management systems, processes, and policies to help them to manage medication safely, cost-effectively, and competently to achieve the best outcomes for both the organisation and its patients.

What is medication management?

According to the Royal College of Nursing, medication management was defined by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as, “the clinical, cost-effective and safe use of medicines to ensure patients get the maximum benefit from the medicines they need, while at the same time minimising potential harm.”

All health and social care organisations require the healthcare professionals they employ to understand the importance of medication management and the systems and processes they need to follow to ensure the safe use of medicines.

Medicine management can be roughly divided into five different areas:

• Storage of medicines
• Dispensing medicines
• Administration of medication
• The safe disposal of medicines
• Medication admin and record keeping

All employees within health and social care organisations that are involved with any aspect of patient medication should receive suitable training in medication management and the organisation’s policies.

The importance of medication management in health and social care

Health and social care organisations should have a rigorous medication management system in place to ensure the safe, consistent, and effective administration of their patients’ medications.

While some patients may only have one type of medication to manage, patients with more complex medical requirements may require several medications to treat multiple health conditions. The more prescriptions a patient has, the more difficult it can be for them or their healthcare providers to manage without the proper processes in place.

Proper medicine management has many benefits for both the patient and the health and social care staff and organisations, including:

Reduce medication management errors

• Mistakes with medication can cause unpleasant or dangerous side effects, render the medication ineffective, or even result in the death of patients. Effective medication management services reduce illness and death rates to provide safer and more reliable healthcare services.

Provide targeted care and achieve the best outcome for patients.

• When medicines are properly managed, not only do patients receive the best medication for them but their response to the dosage is carefully monitored too. This means that if their health suddenly declines, or they stop responding in the same way, the prescription or dosage can be altered accordingly. This careful management helps patients to get the best results from their medication.

Provide cost-effective care

• Errors with medication can have dangerous consequences; they may cause a patient’s condition to deteriorate or sometimes even result in a medical emergency. Mistakes like these are not only dangerous for patients, but they are also costly for health and social care organisations, causing patients to require more medical treatment, become hospitalised, or sometimes even require a trip to A&E, all of which could have otherwise been avoided if medicines had been properly managed.

Peace of mind for patients and their friends and relatives.

• Many patients, particularly the elderly, have problems remembering to take medications at the right time. Professional medication management services give everyone involved peace of mind that the patient is receiving the correct medication at the correct time.

Medication management training

Here at CBAT, we run professional one-day Medication Management training sessions online in virtual classrooms. Our training sessions provide health and social care staff with all the information they need to manage patient medication safely and competently.

Key areas that our course covers include:

• Medication management legislation
• Medication documentation and record-keeping
• Reporting and escalation procedures
• Prescriptions
• Risks relating to medication management
• Different forms of medication

Our medication management training sessions are CPD accredited and Qualsafe certified, and we are the preferred training provider for some of the largest healthcare organisations in the country.

Completing this course will provide you with formal recognition of your ability to manage medication confidently and to national standards.

For more information about our Medication Management training course, give our team a call today on 01772 816 922, send an email to admin@cba-training.co.uk, or book online to secure your place.