Reducing medication errors for adults in hospital settings

Abstract

BackgroundMedication errors are preventable events that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional or patient. Medication errors in hospitalised adults may cause harm, additional costs, and even death. ObjectivesTo determine the e ectiveness of interventions to reduce medication errors in adults in hospital settings. Search methodsWe searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, five other databases and two trials registers on 16 January 2020. Selection criteriaWe included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and interrupted time series (ITS) studies investigating interventions aimed at reducing medication errors in hospitalised adults, compared with usual care or other interventions. Outcome measures included adverse drug events (ADEs), potential ADEs, preventable ADEs, medication errors, mortality, morbidity, length of stay, quality of life and identified/ solved discrepancies. We included any hospital setting, such as inpatient care units, outpatient care settings, and accident and emergency departments. Data collection and analysisWe followed the standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane and the E ective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group. Where necessary, we extracted and reanalysed ITS study data using piecewise linear regression, corrected for autocorrelation and seasonality, where possible.

Use of the knowledge to action model improved physical therapist adherence to a common clinical practice guideline across multiple settings: a multisite case series

“…In addition to audit and feedback, reminders, may have facilitated this success. While inherently complex computerized decision support systems and associated reminder fatigue have been studied extensively in hospital-based practice [ 39 – 42 ], our sites’ therapists developed simple reminder templates, integrated into their medical record systems, to facilitate target behaviors for documentation. Though different for each site, the reminder templates were consistent with recommendations for reducing alert fatigue including: simple action items, flexibility integrated into workflow, and developed to meet goals valued by the providers [ 22 ].…”

Investigation of parenteral drug administration errors in a medical oncology clinic

“…Hatalara neden olan bu faktörler farmakovijilans açısından büyük bir risk oluşturmaktadır. Bir çalışmada, hekimlerle ilaçları uygulayan hemşirelerin daha çok iletişimde bulunarak orderda yazılı ilaçlar ve dozları konusunda teyitleşmesinin ve ilaçlar için hasta -ilaç -doz zamanı eşleşmesi sağlayacak bir barkod/ karekod sistemi kullanılmasının advers ilaç olaylarını ve ilaç uygulama hatalarını azaltmaya yardımcı olabileceği belirtilmiştir [30]. Araştırmamızda tespit edilen 57 ilaç uygulama hatasının yalnızca üç tanesinde olay bildirim formları düzenlendiği saptanmıştır.…”

Detectability of Medication Errors With a STOPP/START-Based Medication Review in Older People Prior to a Potentially Preventable Drug-Related Hospital Admission

“…Another study found that about 20% of medications that were discontinued based on STOPP criteria were re-prescribed within 6 months after discharge from geriatric units; more than half of those resumptions occurred within a month after discharge [ 60 ]. Improvements in medication reconciliation across health care settings could address these unintentional re-prescriptions [ 61 , 62 ]. Data to distinguish between non-implementation and non-persistence of recommended drug changes were not available within the OPERAM trial.…”