Final answer:
The five rights of medication safety are right medication, right dose, right time, right route, and right patient. These guidelines are essential for healthcare professionals to follow to prevent medication errors and ensure patient safety.
Step-by-step explanation:
The five rights of medication safety are crucial for ensuring patient safety and efficacy in drug therapy. The correct answer is C) Right medication, right dose, right time, right route, right patient. Each of these five rights plays a vital role in preventing medication errors:
- Right medication: Confirming that the medication provided is the one that was prescribed.
- Right dose: Ensuring the quantity of medication administered is appropriate for the patient’s specific needs.
- Right time: Administering the medication at the correct time intervals as prescribed.
- Right route: Giving the medication through the proper route of administration, whether it be oral, intravenous, topical, etc.
- Right patient: Verifying the identity of the patient to whom the medication is intended.
Medical and pharmaceutical personnel must thoroughly understand and apply these principles to prevent harm from incorrect dosages, which can be useless, harmful, or even fatal. Careful consideration must be given to factors such as a patient's age, organ function, and body mass to ensure optimal therapeutic outcomes and minimize the risk of side effects.