Optimising Beyond-Use Date Management and Workload to Reduce Intravenous Medication Errors: A Targeted Intervention...

Area of Science:

• Hospital Pharmacy
• Patient Safety
• Medication Error Reduction

Background:

• Intravenous (IV) medication errors pose a significant risk to patient safety, particularly in resource-limited settings.
• Optimizing Beyond-Use Date (BUD) management and workload distribution are critical for safe IV medication practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of targeted interventions on BUD management and workload distribution.
• To reduce intravenous (IV) medication errors and improve patient safety in a resource-limited hospital.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-intervention observational study design was utilized.
• Interventions included establishing BUD guidelines, redistributing staff workloads, and providing targeted training.
• Data on IV preparation and administration errors were collected over a four-month period.

Main Results:

• IV preparation errors in the PIVAS center decreased from 0.19% to 0.12%.
• Administration errors in medical wards reduced from 38.3% to 30.0%.
• Significant improvements were observed in BUD adherence and storage protocols, enhancing overall medication safety.

Conclusions:

• Structured BUD guidelines, workload optimization, and training effectively reduced IV medication errors.
• Management-driven interventions are crucial for improving safety practices in hospital settings.
• The findings offer valuable insights for healthcare providers in resource-constrained environments.