12.1 Introduction
A medication is a substance that assists in preventing or treating illness or disease. Taking medications is a daily reality of the patients and clients in various health care settings. This unit will discuss how HCAs can support their clients in taking prescribed medications.
Supporting clients with medications requires different levels of support provided by different healthcare team members working in collaboration according to their scope of practice and role function. It is important for HCAs to know who the team members are and who is responsible for what aspects of medication management. While the responsibilities of HCAs may differ between workplace settings (such as acute care, complex care, home care, group homes), the HCA role is determined by government legislation, the Ministry of Health, and the 2023 HCA Provincial Curriculum. It is important for HCAs to understand how these legal limitations and regulatory obligations guide and limit their participation with medication management.
This unit reviews essential information and safety regarding medication management.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this unit, the successful student will be able to:
- Define terms for medication assistance.
- Describe the HCA’s role in assisting with medications.
- Differentiate between assisting and administering medication.
- Identify routes of medications.
- List the different forms of medication.
- Describe guidelines to follow when assisting with medications.
- List and describe the Critical “Rights” of assisting or administering medications.
- Discuss documentation in the medication record.
- Identify what to do in the case of a medication error.
Terms to Know
A regulated health care provider who is permitted by federal and provincial legislation, their regulatory college, service provider/ employer, and practice setting (where applicable) to prescribe medications.
The ability to demonstrate the requisite knowledge, skills, judgement and attitudes to perform a specific function.
Delegation occurs when the required task is performed primarily by registered nurses and is outside the role description and training of an unregulated care provider. The delegated task is client-specific and the delegation is determined to be in that client's best interests.
Means to provide a medication pursuant to a prescription for a person but does not include the administration of a medication to a person. Dispensing is a restricted activity under the law.
The activity of supplying to a client a dose of a medication for the purpose of immediate ingestion, application, inhalation, insertion, instillation, or injection. The administration of medications is more than just a psychomotor task of giving a medication to a client. It is a cognitive and interactive aspect of care and involves assessing the client, making clinical decisions, and planning care based on this assessment. Medication administration requires the knowledge and skills of a competent regulated health care provider.
A service provided to a client to facilitate the client’s ability to self-administer medication for as long as possible and to promote medication taken as intended by the prescriber.
Medication assistance includes medication reminders, some/partial assistance, or full assistance.
A critical examination by the interdisciplinary team of a client’s medications for appropriateness, effectiveness, interactions, and adverse reactions for the purposes of optimizing the impact of medications and minimizing the number of medication-related problems.
Medication that does not require a prescription that is taken to treat minor health problems at home.
Includes a variety of treatments and remedies that are used in addition to traditional Western medicine. Included are herbal or natural products (OTC) such as St. John’s Wort, Ginseng, or Melatonin.
