title: Illumination and errors in dispensing.
abstract: The relationship between the level of illumination and the prescription-dispensing error rate in a high-volume Army outpatient pharmacy was investigated. The prescription error rate was determined by direct, undisguised observation and retrospective prescription review under three levels of illumination (45, 102, and 146 foot-candles) during 21 consecutive weekdays. Illumination was controlled in the prescription-checking area of the pharmacy by using additional fluorescent lamps and filters. The three levels of illumination were randomly assigned to the 21 days to provide a total of 7 days of observations per level. The final sample consisted of 10,888 prescriptions dispensed by five pharmacists. The overall prescription error rate (including both content and labeling errors) was 3.39% (369 prescriptions). An illumination level of 146 foot-candles was associated with a significantly lower error rate (2.6%) than the baseline level of 45 foot-candles (3.8%). There was a linear relationship between each pharmacist's error rate and that pharmacist's corresponding daily prescription workload for all three illumination levels. The effect of the observer was minimal. The rate of prescription-dispensing errors was associated with the level of illumination. Ergonomics can affect the performance of professional tasks.
authors.affiliation: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: K N
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Pearson
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D006772:Hospitals, Military; D006801:Humans; D008029:Lighting; D008508:Medication Errors; D010595:Pharmacists; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*