Gave medications too early is this an error?

Julius Seizure · Oct 31, 2018

It may or may not be an error. Check your policies for information about medication scheduling. It may be your facilities policy to get all meds onto a certain schedule. Therefore if a q12h med is ordered, the first dose would be given immediately, and then scheduled according to standard times thereafter. Sometimes that means that the first two doses are given more closely together. Yes, maybe even 6 hours apart. Its always good to be aware of it and when in doubt, check with your friendly neighborhood pharmacist before administering.

mtmkjr, BSN · Oct 31, 2018

daniela095 said:
Patient I had just admitted was ordered heparin subcutaneous every 12 hours. I gave the first dose upon admission and then the next morning ended up giving the next dose 6 hours after that first dose instead of 12 hours after the first dose. The computer didn't automatically reschedule the medication for 12 hours after the first dose and scheduled the next dose for 6 hours later. After I realized I adjusted the doses afterwards to be every 12 hours. I am new nurse and my preceptor wasn't concerned about it. It's bothering me because I feel as if I made an error. Would this really be considered a big deal?

In our system, "the computer" does not schedule medications. That is, not independently of what the pharmacist inputs. The initial dose is entered to be given at the time ordered, and then the pharmacist allowing it to go to the regularly scheduled times or adjusting as needed.

Sometimes however, there are errors in how these times are entered by pharmacy. In this case, if I was aware that a dose had just been given 6 hours prior, I would have called pharmacy to verify that it was OK to give again, and they approved it that way, then it was not an error at all.

If pharmacy said it should not have been in the system for the AM meds, then it would indeed be an error that needed to be reported, with both pharmacy and nursing at fault.

However, your system seems to be different from what I am used to, in that I would have no way of rescheduling a dose, I would only be able to request a time change from pharmacy. So what I've said here may be off base where you work.