Medication administration technologies and patient safety: a mixed-method systematic review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Patient Safety Research
• Health Technology Assessment

Background:

• Healthcare leaders require evidence on nursing medication administration technologies.
• Patient safety improvements depend on informed technology adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate research on medication administration technologies.
• Assess links between technology use, medication incidents, and adverse drug events.
• Inform decisions on existing technology options.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-method systematic literature review.
• Searched 13 electronic databases and 7 patient safety websites (1980-2009).
• Included 12 medium-quality studies with low generalizability.

Main Results:

• Studies generally positive but evidence is equivocal.
• Majority of studies noted nurse workarounds potentially compromising safety.
• Few studies sampled multiple hospitals; none used explicit theoretical frameworks.

Conclusions:

• More theoretically driven research is needed.
• Determine optimal implementation of technologies to reduce incidents and workarounds.
• Further evidence required to assess technology's contribution to patient safety.