EMT- Five Rights of Medication Administration

What are the 5 rights of medication administration?  Why is it important to follow these rights every time that you go to administer a medication to the patient?  Also respond to 2 other students posts.

Five Rights of Medication Administration:

1.       Right Patient (Does this medication belong to the patient? Is this the same patient medical direction approved a medication order for?)

2.       Right Time (Have I made the right decision to administer the medication based on what I am seeing? Is it appropriate under these circumstances to give this particular medication?)

3.       Right Medication (Did I pick up the right bottle? Am I sure this is the correct medication?)

4.       Right Dose (Have I double checked? Am I sure I am giving the correct amount?)

5.       Right Route ((oral/swallowed, sublingual/dissolved under the tongue, Inhaled, Intravenous/injected into a vein, intramuscular/injected into the muscle, Subcutaneous/injected under the skin, intraosseous/injected into the bone marrow cavity, endotracheal/sprayed directly into a tube inserted into the trachea)

It is important to follow these rights every time I go to administer a medication to the patient because it is beneficial to the patient as well as the EMT administering the medication due to legal purposes from documentation. As simple and logical as these 5 Rights appear to be, one missed right could amount to a life. I understand the responsibility of needing to cognate the information given on the medication to determine the correct patient is being given the correct drug. It is easy to assume the patient will become more critical if given the wrong drug so right number one helps prevent the occurrence from happening. Timing has been a reoccurring stress, worry, theme, and topic of discussion in EMS because it is so critical. Time is irretrievable and therefore, highly important to consider when administering medication. Maybe the patient is stable and just having trouble breathing, but you know from their past medical history and the fact that they get short of breath when doing physical activity that they have cardiac distress. Although they might be stable at that moment, you should identify and apply their need for their current heart medication, nitroglycerin, aspirin, etc. to plan ahead of time before their condition descends. Choosing the right medication sounds simple, but I can imagine how it could easily be an issue due to most prescription medications being in similar orange bottles with labels. The correct dose administration of medication is essential. Some things to consider include the patient’s height and weight. If the patient is 100 pounds and 5 ft., then the drug will be more powerful and active in their body compared to a 300 pound man who is 6ft. 2in. The pill might need to even be split in half or diluted in water in order to properly treat the patient. Determining the correct route of medication into the patient is essential. You can’t be putting a pill intraosseously. It just doesn’t work that way. You need to not only use common sense, but be smart and read the label as well as the patient’s state. Some routes are more efficient, handy at that time, or create a stronger effect if done one route compared to another. It depends on the patient’s state and how the medication is supposed to be administered.