Medication errors and processes to reduce them in care homes in the United Kingdom: a scoping review

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Patient Safety
• Geriatric Care

Background:

• Medicines-related incidents represent a major source of preventable harm in patient care, particularly affecting residents of care homes.
• Despite existing national guidelines, there is a notable lack of comprehensive data on medication error rates and the effectiveness of interventions in care home settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the scientific and gray literature concerning medicine-related incidents in UK care homes.
• To explore the causes of these incidents and evaluate strategies implemented to reduce their occurrence.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across scientific and gray literature sources.
• A total of 2951 documents were identified, with 32 selected for in-depth analysis based on relevance to medication incidents, causation, and intervention evaluation in care homes.

Main Results:

• Medicine-related incident rates in care homes varied significantly, ranging from 1% to 38%.
• Incident rates were notably higher for non-tablet or capsule formulations, with rates escalating from 12% to 50% depending on the specific formulation.
• Only three studies reported evaluations of changes designed to mitigate medicine-related incidents.

Conclusions:

• While information on medicine-related incidents in care homes exists, it is not systematically documented or readily available.
• The higher error rates associated with non-solid oral formulations highlight a critical area for targeted safety improvements.
• Further research and systematic data collection are essential to effectively assess and reduce medication errors in care home settings.