Double check medications

Specialties CCU

Published

Specializes in CTICU.

Hello my fellow Critical Care Nurses!!

I have been approached by my fellow coworkers to see how other organizations handle double nurse medication verification. In my current hospital medication is scanned once and the a 2nd nurse signs with login name and passcode. How are other organizations handle this? Is a 2nd scan required or such and how are the medications labeled (any specialized stickers such as Fentanyl, heparin, insulin or such) how are the IV lines distinguished by others. Right now we just hand write labels. Any suggestions? Apparently a new nurse and a veteran nurse made an error. The new nurse was devastated and my heart broke for her so I want to know how either organizations handle this topic. 
thank you as always!

Specializes in ICU.

For second medications double-checks are mandatory. For example, at a facility where I have worked you had to sign off for every Heparin drip dosing change. Currently, in the facility where I work, narcotics do not need to be double-checked unless wasted. 

At change of shift, narcs in the narc box are counted by the nurses.

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