Medication administration error (MAE) remains a patient safety concern. Few studies have investigated the impact of bar-coded technology on medication error reduction during the medication administration process at the bedside in acute care settings. The purpose and focus of this systematic review is to determine whether implementation of the Bar Code Medication Administration System (BCMA) is associated with declines in MAE rate. Findings from this systematic review reveal varied findings between studies and among the 5 rights of medication administration (right drug, right time, right patient, right dose, and right route) in general. Although BCMA did not consistently decrease the overall incidence of MAE, the technology did identify categories of medication errors not previously detected with the traditional 5 rights approach. The opportunity to analyze the additional categories of MAE identified by BCMA has implications for patient safety and is perhaps the most significant contribution of this review.

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BackgroundDespite merits of systems thinking identified in the literature, systems thinking, the ability to recognize, understand, and synthesize interactions and interdependencies in a set of components designed for a purpose is not yet consistently integrated into healthcare programs. PurposeThis study examined the impacts of a table-top simulation designed to teach systems thinking on systems thinking scores in a variety of pre and post-licensure healthcare students. MethodsA multi-site study was conducted across five academic institutions targeting both graduate and pre-licensure students enrolled in nursing, medicine, physical therapy, public health, psychology, and pharmacology programs. ResultsStatistically significant impacts on systems thinking were found overall as well as in most of the groups studied.