|
It's a dreaded scenario. Suddenly one of
your staff members comes into your office and says, "We have a
problem. We've given the wrong vaccine to one of our patients." Or
even worse, they might begin to describe errors with multiple
vaccines and/or multiple patients. No one ever wants this scene to
play out in their medical setting. So how do you prevent these
preventable errors? One way to prevent errors is to
have everyone involved in vaccine administration in your healthcare
setting review IAC's educational handout,
Don't Be Guilty of These Preventable Errors in Vaccine
Administration. Some of the mistakes highlighted on this
four-page handout have more serious consequences than others, but
none of these preventable errors should occur.
This practical tool lists eleven preventable errors and, for
each one, provides advice on:
- how to prevent the error and
- helpful resources that can be consulted for further
information.
As detailed on the handout, are any of these preventable
errors occurring in your practice?
- Not using a standardized checklist to screen patients for
contraindications and precautions to vaccination
- Administering the wrong vaccine due to similarities in
vaccine names (e.g., DTaP for Tdap, zoster for varicella, PPSV23
for PCV13)
- Using the wrong diluent or administering the diluent only
- Administering a vaccine after the expiration date
- Administering vaccine in the wrong site or by the wrong route
- Giving a vaccine dose earlier than the recommended age or
interval
- Giving two doses of live injectable or nasally administered
vaccines too close together (leading to potential interference
between these vaccines)
- Giving the wrong dosage amount for the patient's age (e.g.,
influenza, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccines)
- Giving both pneumococcal vaccines PPSV23 (Pneumovax) and
PCV13 (Prevnar 13) on the same day
- Administering a vaccine outside of its ACIP-recommended
age/dose schedule (e.g., DTaP-IPV, MMRV)
- Administering a vaccine using the wrong needle length
Your patients count on you to administer vaccines safely,
effectively, and correctly. All of these errors can be prevented
with forethought and perhaps additional staff training. So DO be
guilty of correcting these potential problem areas in your medical
setting. And remember, the old saying is true: prevention is indeed
the best medicine—for both you and your patients.
Other Helpful Vaccine Administration Resources
| |
| This page was updated on July
3, 2020. |
| This page was reviewed on July
3, 2020 |
|
ACIP Recommendations
Vaccine Information Statements 
