Question

The nurse is receiving a phone order from a health care provider. How will the nurse make sure that the provider's order is received without error?

1) Advise the health care provider that the order must be written on the chart within the next 24 hours.
2) Ask the nurse in charge to come to the phone to take the order.
3) Write the order without using any unclear or unapproved abbreviations.
4) Repeat the order, write the order verbatim, and read it back to the provider.

Answer 1

A nurse should repeat the provider's order verbatim, write it down without unclear abbreviations, and then read it back to the provider. This is known as read-back verification and helps prevent miscommunication.

Step-by-step explanation:

To ensure that a health care provider's order is received without error, the nurse should use the following steps:

1. Repeat the order verbatim to the provider.
2. Write the order down, avoiding any unclear or unapproved abbreviations.
3. Read the order back to the provider to confirm accuracy.

This process is a part of read-back verification, which is a widely accepted practice in healthcare to prevent miscommunication. Nurses may also be required to have phone orders co-signed by a second nurse or entered into the medical record by a provider within a specified timeframe to further ensure accuracy.