The nurse is preparing to pass the 0900 medications prescribed for her patients. She removes the medications from the automated dispensing unit

Question

When scanning the medication, an alert notifies the nurse that the patient is allergic to this medication. What action should the nurse take? Select all that apply.
a. Override the alert and administer the medication.
b. Confirm the patient's allergies and type of reaction.
c. Notify the prescriber of the patient medication allergy.
d. Be sure an antidote is available at the patient's bedside.

Answer 1

B, C
Alerts are configured to notify the nurse of potential adverse effects before the patient receives the medication. Sometimes patients state they are allergic to a medication when, in reality, they may only have experienced a side effect. The physician or pharmacist can be instrumental in discerning if the patient's reaction was a true allergy. The physician should always be notified before administering medications when an allergy error has been received. Although an antidote to a medication could be useful in the event of a harmful effect, the medication in the situation should not be given, and therefore, the antidote would not be necessary.