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Interventions to reduce nurses' medication administration errors in inpatient settings: A systematic review and
Sarah Berdot1, Marjorie Roudot2, Catherine Schramm3
1Service de Pharmacie, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, APHP, Paris, France; INSERM, UMR_S 1138, Equipe 22, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, F-75006 Paris, France.
International Journal of Nursing Studies
|September 15, 2015
Summary
This systematic review found no evidence that interventions effectively reduce medication administration errors in hospitals. Most studies had a high risk of bias, indicating a need for more rigorous research on error prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Quality and Safety
- Clinical Interventions
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Serious medication administration errors are a significant problem in hospital settings.
- Various interventions, including technology-based solutions, have been developed to mitigate these errors.
- This study systematically reviews and meta-analyzes the efficacy of these interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in reducing medication administration errors.
- To analyze the types and severity of medication administration errors.
- To identify gaps in research regarding intervention efficacy and study design.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, interrupted time-series, non-randomized controlled trials, and controlled before-and-after studies.
- Searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from January 1975 to August 2014.
- Included studies focused on interventions to decrease administration errors among nurses administering medications to inpatients.
Main Results:
- Seven studies met the inclusion criteria, with interventions categorized as training-related or technology-related.
- All included studies exhibited a high risk of bias, primarily due to lack of blinding and potential contamination.
- No statistically significant difference was found in error rates between intervention and control groups (OR=0.72 [0.39; 1.34], p=0.3).
Conclusions:
- Current evidence does not support the effectiveness of interventions in reducing medication administration errors.
- The high risk of bias in existing studies limits the reliability of findings.
- Further high-quality evaluation studies with robust designs are necessary to inform effective error reduction strategies.
