[Safe medication administration in hospitals].

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality and patient safety research.
• Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics.
• Hospital administration and management.

Background:

• Medication administration errors (MAEs) pose a significant risk to hospitalized patients daily.
• Numerous interventions have been developed to mitigate MAEs, including staff training, procedural checks, and advanced technologies.
• Existing research on these interventions often involves small study populations, limiting definitive conclusions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and synthesize the evidence on interventions aimed at reducing medication administration errors in hospital inpatients.
• To identify the most effective strategies for preventing MAEs.
• To highlight the need for further research to guide best practices in medication safety.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of studies evaluating interventions for medication administration errors.
• Analysis of intervention effectiveness based on study outcomes.
• Assessment of study limitations, particularly sample size.

Main Results:

• A variety of interventions, including technological solutions like smart infusion pumps and barcode administration, have been implemented.
• Current evidence is largely derived from small-scale studies.
• The comparative effectiveness of different interventions remains largely undetermined due to limited data.

Conclusions:

• While interventions to reduce medication errors are available, their effectiveness is not clearly established.
• Further large-scale research is essential to identify optimal strategies for enhancing medication safety in hospitals.
• Evidence-based recommendations for preventing medication administration errors require more robust investigation.