Effect of warning symbols in combination with education on the frequency of erroneously crushing medication in nursing homes: an uncontrolled before and after study.

Not all pill-form medications can be safely crushed to administer to patients who have difficulty swallowing. In this before and after intervention study in a nursing home, adding warning symbols and educating staff about crushing medications led to a decrease in pill-crushing errors. The authors conclude that education and warnings enhanced this aspect of medication safety.