Roles and systems for routine medication administration to prevent medication errors in hospital-based, acute care settings: a systematic review

The effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce medication administration errors: a synthesis of findings from systematic reviews

“…Each part of this process presents multiple opportunities for error. The complexity of the medication administration process is compounded by polypharmacy, patient acuity, interruptions, use of electronic technologies, facility design, time constraints, as well as the numerous policies and procedures that govern administration (Wimpenny & Kirkpatrick 2010, Grigg et al 2011. The dynamic and unpredictable nature of the clinical environment further adds to this complexity (Folkmann & Rankin 2010).…”

Developing risk management behaviours for nurses through medication incident analysis

“…6,8 Internal and external factors have also been implicated in medication errors with nurses identifying illegible prescriptions, inadequate space for charting and documenting, walking distances to patient rooms, small medication rooms, inappropriate organization of medical supplies, high noise levels in the nursing unit, poor lighting, interruptions and lack of privacy in the nursing stations. 1,9 Carlton and Blegen also outlined other system's factors contributing to medication errors such as long working hours and nursing skill mix. 6 Studies of interventions are limited beyond electronic prescribing with a recent systemic review and randomized control trial finding that individual patient medication supply, education and training for nurses, use of pharmacists and dedicated administration nurses are effective in reducing of medication errors.…”

“…2 A contemporary systematic review of 19 studies, undertaken by Wimpenny and Kirkpatrick, concluded that administration from individually labelled medication or administration close to the patient, involving the patient in the administration process through either self-administration or engagement in the checking process, had the potential to reduce errors. 1 Although there are multiple contributing factors to medication errors, the interventions available appear to be predominately computerized systems. The direct connection between medication incidents and nurse behaviour has not been adequately addressed in literature.…”

“…1 Medication errors are estimated to occur in 6-20% of all medications administered. 1,2 When a medication error occurs, nurses often find the experience to be traumatic, affecting their personal and professional lives whether or not patient injury occurs. 3 Wimpenny and Kirkpatrick note that interest in risk management and patient safety relating to medication errors has resulted from concerns about the impact of medication errors on patients and the organization.…”

“…3 Wimpenny and Kirkpatrick note that interest in risk management and patient safety relating to medication errors has resulted from concerns about the impact of medication errors on patients and the organization. 1 Risk management behaviour is defined as those behaviours, processes or systems used to minimize errors in practice. 4 A systematic review of patient safety interventions relating to medication errors identified that computerized prescribing or incident reporting systems were frequently used to improve safety.…”