Barcode medication administration (BCMA) technology reduces risk of many types of medication errors (e.g., wrong drug, wrong patient, omission). This qualitative study of nurses in low- and high-BCMA-use hospital wards describes barriers and facilitators to use. Barriers were consistent across use levels, suggesting that team culture and accountability play a crucial role in increasing BCMA use.

Requiring a prescriber to include an indication for a medication can reduce the risk of wrong-patient orders and improve antimicrobial and opioid stewardship. This review identified 21 studies describing interventions to encourage prescribers to include indications for medications. In addition to patient safety benefits, several risks and drawbacks were uncovered, such as potential loss of patient privacy or alert fatigue.

Natural disasters and other public health emergencies (PHE), such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can dramatically change the delivery of healthcare. This scoping review identified considerable research examining the relationship between public health emergencies and disruptions to personal medication practices (e.g., self-altering medication regimens, access barriers, changing prescribing providers) and subsequent medication-related harm.

Intravenous (IV) medication smart pumps can improve medication administration, but usability issues can compromise safety. This article outlines strategic recommendations regarding the implementation of smart pump technology to improve patient safety. Recommendations include standardization of infusion concentrations, improving drug libraries using a human-centered approach, and increasing stakeholder engagement.

Medication errors during pediatric resuscitation are common. Using video recordings of simulated pediatric resuscitations, the researchers explored deviations in care related to the delivery of intravenous medicine. Findings suggest that deviations play a crucial role in intravenous medication administration errors, and deviations were more likely to occur during the use of an online injectable medicine guideline.

Data that is collected for clinical care and then reused to improve quality of patient care is referred to as secondary use of data (SUD). This review identified enablers and barriers to successful use of SUD to improve medication safety. The authors developed an integrated framework to describe the processes, mechanisms, and barriers for SUD.

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) introduced the third Global Patient Safety Challenge, Medication Without Harm. Interviews, focus groups, and document analysis were conducted at four UK hospitals to evaluate how they were addressing the domains and priority areas laid out in the WHO’s Patient Safety Challenge. Although all areas were addressed, additional focus is needed on patient and public involvement, transitions of care, and polypharmacy.

… training, and power dynamics.   … Ocloo J, Garfield S, Franklin BD, et al. Exploring the theory, barriers and …

This study compared the frequency of intravenous (IV) medication errors using the current National Health Service Injectable Medicines Guide (IMG) versus revised IMG-based user-testing, which included such revisions as provision of equations and tables to support rate calculations. Findings indicate that user-tested guidelines led to fewer medication errors, less time to prepare and administer IV medications, and increased staff confidence.

… enter these data after administration. … Furniss D, Dean Franklin B, Blandford A. The devil is in the detail: how a …

Using a participatory action research approach, this study evaluated a smartphone app intended to empower surgical patients and caregivers to help optimize their care. Forty-two patients were enrolled in the study and they underwent a variety of different surgical procedures. Most patients felt that app was useful and informative (79%), was easy to use (74%) and helped participants to ask better questions (76%) and feel more involved in conversations about their care. However, almost half of participants (48%) were unsure about how the app could affect safety, citing that safety was the responsibility of the clinical staff alone rather than patients.

This prospective cohort study of 1,503 patients sought to identify timepoints during the inpatient hospitalization when pharmacists have the greatest potential for reducing medication errors. The study included 1,153 medication errors considered preventable and either moderate or severe. The majority (70%) of medication errors were identified during or before the first inpatient admission review by the pharmacist, suggesting that the greatest need for medication error identification and resolution is during the early stages of the hospital admission. However, the  study also identified that medication errors continue throughout the hospital stay, indicating a need for ongoing pharmacy review.

This retrospective study used text mining to analyze the free text descriptions in 72,390 medication administration incident reports in the National Reporting and Learning System in England and Wales to identify terms most frequently associated with risk that might otherwise remain buried within other non-relevant text. The authors identified the most common medications described in free text (insulin, antibiotics, paracetamol and morphine) and presented the most common free text terms associated with these medications. Results indicate that checking patient allergies and medication doses, especially for intravenous and transdermal medications, should be a focus of efforts to increase medication administration safety.

… drug interactions, and facilitating communication. … Garfield S, Furniss D, Husson F, et al. How can patient-held …

While medication errors during paediatric resuscitation are considered common, little information about the processes that contribute to them has been gathered. This prospective observational study in a large English teaching hospital describes the incidence, nature and severity of medication errors made by 15 teams, each comprised of two doctors and two nurses, during simulated paediatric resuscitations. Clinically significant errors were made in 11 of the 15 cases, most due to discrepancies in drug ordering, preparation and administration. The authors recommend additional research into new approaches to protecting patients in paediatric emergency settings.

… consultation during hospitalization. … Geeson C, Wei L, Franklin BD. Development and performance evaluation of the …

Intravenous medication infusions are an important target for safety interventions. Many infused medications, such as opioids and chemotherapy, require vigilant adherence to protocol to prevent harm. Technical solutions to infusion errors such as computerized provider order entry, barcode medication administration, and smart infusion pumps have been implemented with some success. Investigators compared infusion errors in the United States, where all three technical interventions are common, to the United Kingdom, where those technical interventions are rare. Minor errors were common in each country, but only 0.8% of infusions placed patients at serious risk of harm. Although the details of errors in both countries differed in detail, rates of error and harm were similar. A WebM&M commentary described a chemotherapy infusion error that caused renal failure.

Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) has vastly improved medication safety when compared to handwritten orders. However, even with CPOE, medication ordering errors are common. This qualitative study used a human factors approach to characterize electronic prescribing errors, which were primarily due to CPOE system design, organizational implementation decisions, and individual prescribing behaviors. A PSNet perspective assessed lessons learned about electronic health record safety.

Errors and discrepancies in intravenous infusions were common in this study performed at two English hospitals, but only a small proportion of errors led to patient harm. The use of smart pumps did not appear to protect against errors.

Informal caregivers can make errors in administering medications to patients in home settings. This human factors analysis identified multiple vulnerabilities, including incorrect dosing, storage, timing, and failure to discontinue medications as instructed. The authors note an overall lack of support and communication for caregiver-administered medications in home and community settings.