Medication safety: just a label away.
In perioperative settings, medications are removed from manufacturers' identifying containers; therefore, scrub personnel should label medications placed on the sterile field. Compliance with medication labeling practices with the use of both blank and preprinted labels was tested in the OR at a Houston, Texas, hospital. Scrub personnel were more likely to label medications and medication-delivery devices when preprinted medication labels were provided. Data obtained from this project influenced the hospital's management team to supply preprinted labels for all procedures to improve safety for surgical patients.
Jennings
Jane
J
OR Surgical Services, The Woodlands Hospital, The Woodlands, TX, USA.
Foster
Jan
J
D004348:Drug Labeling / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011327:Printing; D012449:Safety / Q000592:standards