A User-Centered Approach to Designing Secondary Anesthesia Medication Labels

Abstract

Poorly designed and implemented medication labels have been identified as a source of medication errors within anesthesia delivery. Previous studies noted that simplified text and icons are useful in warning labels used for prescription drugs, especially for people with low literacy levels. In addition, Tallman lettering can reduce errors due to the custom capitalization of text. However, icons, color, and Tallman lettering have not been explored for improving the readability of anesthesia medication labels. This study utilizes a user- centered approach to design and evaluate icons and other graphical features to be included on secondary medication labels placed on infusion bags within anesthesia point-of-care. The study utilizes an iterative design process to examine the potential efficacy of these design characteristics by evaluating them with the anesthesia providers/clinicians through an online survey. Findings suggest that introducing graphical components like icons and color may be useful and accepted by clinicians to improve medication recognition.

Estimating the impact of label design on reducing the risk of medication errors by applying HEART in drug administration

“…Furthermore, an HCD label reduces reading time and di culty level [53], so it might help alleviate other systemic causes of medication errors, such as failure in double-checking procedures, work overload and shortage of time. This example highlights the relevance of using HFE principles in designing medication labels, as suggested in previous research [18], [27], [53] and by international organisations [12], [16], [17].…”

“…Some scholars suggest the need to invest in healthcare HFE skills and professionals for medication safety improvement [24], integrate HFE specialists into multidisciplinary teams to improve intravenous medication safety [25], as well as embed HFE and patient safety education in pharmacy curricula [26]. Also, efforts have been made to integrate HFE in researching the design of medication labels [27].…”

Estimating the impact of label design on reducing the risk of medication errors by applying HEART in drug administration

“…Furthermore, an HCD label reduces reading time and difficulty level [ 53 ], so it might help alleviate other systemic causes of medication errors, such as failure in double-checking procedures, work overload, and shortage of time. This example highlights the relevance of using HFE principles in designing medication labels, as suggested in previous research [ 18 , 27 , 53 ] and by international organisations [ 12 , 16 , 17 ]. Future research can utilise the findings of this study to estimate the impact of label design in other healthcare settings and processes of the medication system.…”

“…Some scholars suggest the need to invest in healthcare HFE skills and professionals for medication safety improvement [ 24 ], integrate HFE specialists into multidisciplinary teams to improve intravenous medication safety [ 25 ], and embed HFE and patient safety education in pharmacy curricula [ 26 ]. Also, efforts have been made to integrate HFE in researching the design of medication labels [ 27 ].…”