title: Reducing interruptions to improve medication safety.
abstract: In the fast-paced environment of a cardiac and thoracic surgery telemetry unit, nurses are interrupted hundreds of times per day. These interruptions can have a detrimental effect on patient safety during medication administration. This article describes a bundle of safety interventions that reduced the average number of interruptions during medication administration by 2.11 interruptions per encounter and decreased reported medication errors by a total of 28 incidents over a 3-month period.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. colthorp@umich.edu
authors.forename: Regi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McKee
authors.forename: Bethany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lee-Lehner
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pesenecker
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008510:Medication Systems, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000592:standards; D015397:Program Evaluation; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*