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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

A Novel Approach for the Administration of Medications and Fluids in Emergency Scenarios and Settings
Published on: November 9, 2016
Medication Administration Time Study (MATS): nursing staff performance of medication administration
Erika Sharpnack Elganzouri1, Cynthia A Standish, Ida Androwich
1Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 251 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. esharpna@yahoo.com
Objective:
The aim of this study was to develop and test a method for assessing nursing effort and workflow in the medication administration process.
Background:
Thousands of patients die each year from medication errors, and hospitals strive for error reduction. Bar-coding medication administration systems have been proposed as a solution; however, many hospitals lack the necessary pre-implementation workflow process data on medication administration processes to evaluate the effectiveness of their current systems.
Method:
A descriptive observation study of 151 nurses during 980 unique medication observations in medical-surgical units at a rural hospital, an urban community hospital, and an academic medical center was conducted.
Results:
Nurses averaged more than 15 minutes on each medication pass and were at risk of an interruption or distraction with every medication pass.
Conclusion:
System challenges faced by nurses during the medication administration process lead to threats to patient safety, work-arounds, workflow inefficiencies, and distractions during a time when focus is most needed to prevent error.
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