Education from Clear Lake Regional Hospital in the Gulf Coast Divison : When Nimodipine is ordered for a non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage it is considered a “critical medication”. This means Nimodipine must be given within 30 minutes of the scheduled administration time. For instance, if Nimodipine was scheduled for 1300, the nurse must administer sometime between 1230 and 1330 or document an acceptable reason for inability to administer within the allotted timeframe (patient in a procedure, patient off the unit, patient hypotensive so the physician was notified prior to administration, etc…). The Standard Medication Administration Times policy discusses administration of Nimodipine as a critical medication and the need for it to be administered within 30 minutes of the scheduled administration time. Also, Nimodipine administration compliance is closely monitored during our annual Comprehensive Stroke Survey. The nurses are able to see the critical medication instructions if they click on “***** NOT FOR IV USE ******…” in the eMAR. Clear Lake Regional Hospital has had quite a few non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage patients in the months of August and September and we noticed a few fall-outs on Nimodipine administration. I have attached the Standard Medication Administration Times policy and a snap shot of where to click in the eMAR to view the administration instructions. Please contact your Regional Director of Clinical Operations for questions.
Critical Medication Administration Policy - Nimodipine.
