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What is a route of administration?
What is the most common route of Drug Administration?
What is a medication administration route?
When are other routes of administration required?
Aug 23, 2023 · Describe the importance of routes of medication administration. Review how interprofessional strategies between healthcare team members can improve factors related to medication route selection to improve pharmaceutical outcomes in patients.
- Jean Kim, Orlando De Jesus
- 2023/08/23
- 2021
- Overview
- Routes of medication administration
- Training in medication administration
- Dosage and timing
- Potential problems
- Talk with your doctor
Introduction
We take medications to diagnose, treat, or prevent illness. They come in lots of different forms and we take them in many different ways. You may take a drug yourself, or a healthcare provider may give it to you.
There are several different ways drugs can be administered. You’re probably familiar with injections and pills that you swallow, but medications can be given in many other ways as well.
Routes of medication administration are described in the table below.
The route used to give a drug depends on three main factors:
•the part of the body being treated
•the way the drug works within the body
•the formula of the drug
Not all types of medications can be administered at home or by someone without special training. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers are trained in how to give you medication safely.
Administration of medication requires thorough understanding the drug, including:
•how it moves through your body
•when it needs to be administered
•possible side effects and dangerous reactions
•proper storage, handling, and disposal
It’s important to take only the dosage described in the prescription label or other instructions. Dosage is carefully determined by your doctor and can be affected by your age, weight, kidney and liver health, and other health conditions.
For some medications, dosage must be determined by trial and error. In these cases, your healthcare provider would need to monitor you when you first start treatment.
For example, if your doctor prescribes thyroid medications or blood thinners, you would likely need to have several blood tests over time to show if the dosage is too high or too low. The results from these tests would help your doctor adjust your dosage until they find the one that’s right for you.
Many medications need to reach a certain level in your bloodstream to be effective. They need to be given at specific times, such as every morning, to keep that amount of drug in your system.
Adverse events, or unwanted and negative effects, can happen with any drug. These effects can include an allergic reaction or an interaction with another drug you’re taking.
To help avoid these problems, be sure to tell your doctor about any other medications you’re taking or any times you’ve had an allergy to drugs or foods.
A drug with high risk of adverse effects may be administered only by a healthcare provider. And in some uncommon cases, your healthcare provider may keep you in their facility so they can observe how the drug affects you.
If you take a medication yourself, it’s up to you to watch for problems, such as a rash, swelling, or other side effects. If you notice any problems, be sure to let your doctor know.
Be sure to take your medications correctly to get the most out them and to reduce your risk of side effects and other problems. Anyone giving you the drug should follow your doctor’s instructions carefully.
Make sure that you understand everything about taking your medication. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor. Some questions you might ask include:
•I’m not sure how often I should take this medication. Can you explain your instructions more clearly?
•My nurse gives me my medication now. Can I be trained to give it to myself?
•I’m having trouble taking my medication. Can a family member or healthcare provider give it to me instead?
•Are there any side effects I should watch for?
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Nov 2, 2023 · A route of administration is a way that a drug can enter the body. There are many drug routes of administration, each suited to different situations. Each route has its benefits and...
Apr 24, 2020 · Before administering a medicine, it is important to understand the benefits and limitation of the routes of administration. This article, the first in a two-part series on medicines administration, offers a quick guide.
This section will discuss the different routes for medication administration, how to prepare for administration, and the various methods for administering drugs to the client. Both enteral and parenteral sites will be reviewed, along with the equipment needed for each type of drug administration.
Inhalation route. Drugs administered by inhalation through the mouth must be atomized into smaller droplets than those administered by the nasal route, so that the drugs can pass through the windpipe (trachea) and into the lungs. How deeply into the lungs they go depends on the size of the droplets.
Oct 1, 2020 · In this guide, we summarise the most common routes used to administer drugs, the advantages and disadvantages of each drug route and examples of dosage forms that are used to deliver the active drug to the intended site of action in the body.
