Critique of Glaslow Side Effects - Essay Example

Critique of Glaslow Side Effects Many researchers have developed tools or ways of explaining the lack ofadherence to doctor’s prescription by patients. It has been observed that most patients do not complete their doses and this has been seen to cause complication and is thus a major drawback in giving healthcare. This tools as has been explained is a way of trying to understand why patients do not adhere to the prescription. The information is collected through directly interviewing the patients through the use of questionnaires or interviews. Anonymity is encouraged as a way of preventing the patients from holding back their responses. The survey should also take a large sample since people suffer from different diseases (White, 2003: 328). This tool has emphasized on the importance of understanding the factors that hinder the initial acceptance as a way of understanding the reasons for failure to adherence later during medication. This paper is a critique of this side effect assessment tool discussing its pros and cons in details. Although this tool would help in identifying the major causes of non-adherence to prescription through conducting research on a large sample, the results from this survey would not be conclusive. This is because individual people are quite diverse. Patients suffering from the same aliment may fail to adhere to take medication as prescribed because of a wide array of reasons. To get adequate information on this matter, the tool would have to ensure that every person from different backgrounds or with different attributes is represented in the sample. This would mean that each individual should interview because it is not possible for any two persons to have the same attributed not unless they are twins. The nurses should thus treat each individual case differently when dealing with this problem of non-adherence. As such, the tool has failed to overemphasize the need of the caregiver to have a close therapeutic relationship with the clients (Helms, 2006: 45). Through such a relationship, the patient gains confidence with the caregiver and can thus express their fears or concern which are effectively addressed by the caregiver. It also gives the caregiver the chance to explain to the patient the importance of certain kind of medication and the complications it can cause if not completed. A close relationship would also be of great help to this tool as the caregiver can give personalized attention to each patient. This is because one patient may have some side effects while another may not. In giving medication to patients, their preferences should also be taken into account. There are different alternative medications and manner in which it can be administered (Stuart, 2000: 190). For instance, there may be some patients who prefer drugs beings administered to them through injections while other through the oral method. Administering the drug in the most preferred manner would ensure increased adherence to doctor prescriptions. The doctor also needs to give more information to the patient about their condition. This would increase their cooperation compare to when they are unaware of the essence of certain medications or procedures. Culture for instance is an important factor in the choice of medication (Boyd, 2006: 187). When prescribing medication, the caregiver should consider the cultural background in order to give the most appropriate medication and hence increase compliance. Moreover, the tool has ignored an important way that the information given can be made more accurate. It is true that patients are bound to withhold information or even given erroneous information. This is because people are more likely to give false information in order to cover up their mistake (Joint commission, 2002: 378). If a patient have defaulted in taking their prescription, it would be hard for them to admit to the health care giver. The reliability of data collected this way can be improved by not only getting information from the patient alone but also form people close to them (Uselton, 2005 :76). This could be a spouse or relatives. Since these people may have lived with the patient for a long time, they may be in a position to give information on why the patients my fail to follow the doctor’s prescription. The information they give can also be used in deciding the most appropriate treatment and medication for a non-complying patient (Helms, 2006: 365). For patients who have been admitted, it is easy to monitor how they take their prescription. Nurses should encourage them by emphasizing on the importance of the medication in speeding the healing process. For patients who have not been admitted, the relatives or spouse should be advised by the caregiver on the need to ensure the patients take their meds as directed by the doctor. Despite the cons mentioned above, the tool has some good aspects that would help in dealing with side effects in patients. For instance, the tool has emphasized on the factors that make a patient take the first step of seeking treatment. This is because knowing the source of the desire to seek treatment can help in identifying ways in which compliance in the individual patient to prescription can be improved. (Brodwin, 2013: 154). Here again giving the client individualized attention is important since depending on different factors, different patients have diverse perceptions on medication. The tool has on this area emphasized on the need to make prescription and giving of medical care centered on the patient. Besides, although the tool is not effective in dealing with personalized cases, it can give general information on factors that may cause the non-compliance to prescription form the doctors. This information can then be used to develop a framework used by the nurses and caregiver in dealing with the individual patients as a way of improving compliance. The medical officer should however have an open mind and refrain from totally relying on the results of this tool. They should employ all means available in ensuring that there is a positive outcome in all medical cases (Cohn 2011: 340). Limiting oneself to the use of this tool in assessing side effects would close out other opportunities of finding better ways of dealing with the side effect tissue. In conclusion, the side effect assessment tool can shed some light on the reason why patients fail to comply with doctors’ prescription. It is an important tool which when used tighter with other techniques can assist the medical care giver in improving compliance of the patients. Most important, the medical officers should ensure that they give individualized attention to each patient. This would make it possible for them to address the individual needs and concern. All these would increase the success of the healthcare service industry in improving the health of the individuals. References (2009). Forensic nursing: a handbook for practice. [S.l.], Jones & Bartlett. BOYD, M. (2007). Psychiatric nursing. Philadelphia, Pa, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. BRODWIN, P. (2013). Everyday ethics: voices from the front line of community psychiatry. Berkeley, University of California Press. COHN, S. L. (2011). Perioperative medicine. London, Springer. HELMS, R. A. (2006). Textbook of therapeutics: drug and disease management. Philadelphia, Pa. [u.a.], Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. JOINT COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION OF HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS. (2002). Examples of compliance: pain assessment and management. Oakbrook Terrace, IL, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. STUART, R. B. (2000). Adherence, compliance, and generalization in behavioral medicine. New York, Brunner/Mazel. USELTON, J. P., KIENLE, P. C., MURDAUGH, L. B., & COE, C. P. (2010). Assuring continuous compliance with Joint Commission standards: a pharmacy guide. Bethesda, Md, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. WHITE, L. (2005). Foundations of nursing. [Clifton Park, NY], Thomson Delmar Learning. http://www.r2library.com/public/ResourceDetail.aspx?authCheck=true&resid=144. Read More