The prevention of medication errors in the home care setting: a scoping review

The changes in health, social and demographic needs impose new approaches to cures and care without giving up patients' safety. Although several studies analysed the patient safety approach and strategies, the literature considering the home care setting seems still scarce. The analysis of the phenomenon of medication errors in the primary care setting highlights the necessity of exploring the specific variables to understand how to prevent or reduce the occurrence of a medication error in the home context. This review investigates the main preventive strategies implemented at the patient's home to prevent and/or limit the possibility of a medication error.

The scoping review was conducted under the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) statement and based on the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute.

No time or language limit was set to obtain the most comprehensive results possible. The following databases were queried: PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, ERIC and PsycINFO via EBSCO. All literature published up to 31 December 2022 was considered for data collection.

The main preventive strategies implemented in the patient's home to prevent a medication error are: Multidisciplinary teams, therapeutic reconciliation and computerised systems that improve information sharing. As evidenced by all of the included studies, no educational intervention or preventive strategy individually reduces the risk of making a medication error.

It would be desirable for healthcare professionals to be constantly updated about their knowledge and understand the importance of introducing the aforementioned preventive strategies to guarantee safe care that protects the person from medication errors even at the patient's home.