What should caregivers always do before administering medication?

Before administering medication, caregivers must always confirm the patient's identity. This step is critical to ensuring safety and accuracy in medication administration. By verifying that the medication is being given to the correct patient, caregivers help prevent medication errors, which can lead to serious health consequences. Confirming identity typically involves checking two identifiers, such as the patient's name and date of birth, against the medication records.

While checking the patient's vitals, ensuring the proper route of administration, and preparing the medication are all important tasks in the medication administration process, they should be carried out after confirming who the patient is. The prioritization of patient identity confirmation protects the patient and forms a foundational step in the medication administration protocol.