What should caregivers do to ensure patient safety during medication administration?

Verifying the "five rights" of medication administration is critical for ensuring patient safety. The five rights include verifying the right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, and right time before administering any medication. Following this systematic approach helps to prevent medication errors, which can lead to serious harm or adverse reactions in patients.

While consulting a colleague can be beneficial, particularly if there’s doubt or uncertainty, it doesn't replace the established protocol of confirming the five rights. Relying on memory can lead to oversights, and checking for patient allergies alone doesn't address the multifaceted nature of safe medication administration. Therefore, consistently verifying the five rights is the foundational practice that caregivers should follow to promote a safe medication administration process.