Examining medication errors in a tertiary hospital.
This project examined the accuracy of medication administration by nurses at a large tertiary hospital. Registered nurses were prepared to directly observe medication administration. Observations were made of 1514 doses administered by 30 nurses on 3 units, on day and evening shifts. Few (5%) medication errors were found. The most frequent errors were wrong technique, wrong time, and omission. Results suggest examination of medication policies, assessment of medication administration competency, and targeted in-service education.
Maricle
Karen
K
Erie County Medical Center, Buffalo, NY 14215, USA. kmaricle@ecmc.edu
Whitehead
Lynn
L
Rhodes
Mattie
M
D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States