Integrated pharmacy nurse program of medication administration and intravenous therapy

This is a descriptive report of a pharmacy nurse program involving medication administration and intravenous (IV) therapy programs that have been in continuous operation for over 15 years. Information is presented on organizational and personnel considerations for initiating and maintaining such a program. The benefits and obstacles encountered with this program are addressed. The primary reasons for an integrated pharmacy nurse program of medication administration and IV therapy are to better ensure quality of patient services in the medication distribution process from the inception of the physician's order until a patient receives a medication and to assign administrative responsibility for the entire medication process. The presence of a controlled environment with properly trained personnel is more likely to result in decreased medication errors. In this era of unprecedented medical malpractice judgements and high costs for extended lengths of stay associated with medication and IV therapy misadventures, low error rates are especially important.