An observational study of how patients are identified before medication administrations in medical and surgical wards.
Härkänen M, Kervinen M, Ahonen J, et al. An observational study of how patients are identified before medication administrations in medical and surgical wards. Nurs Health Sci. 2015;17(2):188-94. doi:10.1111/nhs.12158.
This direct observation study found that verifying patients' identity prior to medication administration, a key patient safety practice, was not routinely employed. Nurses with more experience tended to comply with the identification protocol less, underscoring the challenge of effectively implementing patient safety recommendations.