Factors associated with workarounds in barcode-assisted medication administration in hospitals.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify that workarounds (defined as "informal temporary practices for handling exceptions to normal procedures or workflow") by nurses using information technology potentially compromise medication safety. Therefore, we aimed to identify potential risk factors associated with workarounds performed by nurses in Barcode-assisted Medication Administration in hospitals. BACKGROUND: Medication errors occur during the prescribing, distribution and administration of medication. Errors could harm patients and be a tragedy for both nurses and medical doctors involved. Interventions to prevent errors have been developed, including those based on information technology. To cope with shortcomings in information technology-based interventions as Barcode-assisted Medication Administration, nurses perform workarounds. Identification of workarounds in information technology is essential to implement better-designed software and processes which fit the nurse workflow. DESIGN: We used the data from our previous prospective observational study, performed in four general hospitals in the Netherlands using Barcode techniques, to administer medication to inpatients. METHODS: Data were collected from 2014-2016. The disguised observation was used to gather information on potential risk factors and workarounds. The outcome was a medication administration with one or more workarounds. Logistic mixed models were used to determine the association between potential risk factors and workarounds. The STROBE checklist was used for reporting our data. RESULTS: We included 5,793 medication administrations among 1,230 patients given by 272 nurses. In 3,633 (62.7%) of the administrations, one or more workarounds were observed. In the multivariate analysis, factors significantly associated with workarounds were the medication round at 02 p.m.-06 p.m. (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.05-2.45) and 06 p.m.-10 p.m. (adjusted OR: 3.60, 95% CI: 2.11-6.14) versus the morning shift 06 a.m.-10 a.m., the workdays Monday (adjusted OR: 2.59, 95% CI: 1.51-4.44), Wednesday (adjusted OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.2-3.07) and Saturday (adjusted OR: 2.24, 95% CI: 1.31-3.84) versus Sunday, the route of medication, nonoral (adjusted OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.05-1.57) versus the oral route of drug administration, the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical classification-coded medication "other" (consisting of the irregularly used Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical classes [D, G, H, L, P, V, Y, Z]) (adjusted OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.05-2.11) versus Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical class A (alimentary tract and metabolism), and the patient-nurse ratio ≥6-1 (adjusted OR: 5.61, 95% CI: 2.9-10.83) versus ≤5-1. CONCLUSIONS: We identified several potential risk factors associated with workarounds performed by nurses that could be used to target future improvement efforts in Barcode-assisted Medication Administration. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurses administering medication in hospitals using Barcode-assisted Medication Administration frequently perform workarounds, which may compromise medication safety. In particular, nurse workload and the patient-nurse ratio could be the focus for improvement measures as these are the most clearly modifiable factors identified in this study.

Pooled Dosing and Efficacy Analysis of the Sufentanil Sublingual Tablet 30 mcg Across Demographic Subgroups for the Management of Moderate-to-Severe Acute Pain.

PURPOSE: To aid nurses in dosing sufentanil sublingual tablet (SST) 30 mcg administered via a single-dose applicator, dosing requirements and efficacy of SST 30 mcg were analyzed across age, sex, race, and body mass index subgroups. DESIGN: Patient characteristics were pooled from three postoperative studies (two placebo-controlled and one open-label) and one open-label emergency department study. Drug dosing and efficacy data were pooled from the postoperative studies. METHODS: Efficacy was assessed through summed pain intensity difference to baseline during 12 hours across subgroups. FINDINGS: Mean (standard deviation) drug doses administered from 0 to 12 hours was 3.9 (2.0) for SST 30 mcg and was less frequent for older (≥65 years) versus younger patients. The summed pain intensity difference to baseline during 12 hours was superior with SST 30 mcg versus placebo across all subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: SST 30 mcg is a sublingual opioid analgesic with efficacy across demographic subgroups.

How to measure quantitative antibiotic use in order to support antimicrobial stewardship in acute care hospitals: a retrospective observational study.

A cornerstone of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) is monitoring quantitative antibiotic use. Frequently used metrics are defined daily dose (DDD) and days of therapy (DOT). The purpose of this study was (1) to explore for the hospital setting the possibilities of quantitative data retrieval on the level of medical specialty and (2) to describe factors affecting the usability and interpretation of these quantitative metrics. We performed a retrospective observational study, measuring overall systemic antibiotic use at specialty level over a 1-year period, from December 1st 2014 to December 1st 2015, in one university and 13 non-university hospitals in the Netherlands. We distinguished surgical and non-surgical adult specialties. The association between DDDs, calculated from aggregated dispensing data, and DOTs, calculated from patient-level prescription data, was explored descriptively and related to organizational factors, data sources (prescription versus dispensing data), data registration, and data extraction. Twelve hospitals were able to extract dispensing data (DDD), three of which on the level of medical specialty; 13 hospitals were able to extract prescription data (DOT), 11 of which by medical specialty. A large variation in quantitative antibiotic use was found between hospitals and the correlation between DDDs and DOTs at specialty level was low. Differences between hospitals related to organizational factors, data sources, data registration, and data extraction procedures likely contributed to the variation in quantitative use and the low correlation between DDDs and DOTs. The differences in healthcare organization, data sources, data registration, and data extraction procedures contributed to the variation in reported quantitative use between hospitals. Uniform registration and extraction procedures are necessary for appropriate measurement and interpretation and benchmarking of quantitative antibiotic use.

Nurses' satisfaction with barcode medication-administration technology: Results of a cross-sectional study.

Medication administration is a critical task of nurses that, if not done appropriately, can lead to fatal errors. New technologies, including barcode medication administration, are intended to decrease medication errors and enhance verification of medication-administration rights. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effect of introducing barcode medication administration on nurses' satisfaction and identified correlates of nurses' satisfaction with barcode medication administration. A descriptive, cross-sectional design using self-reported questionnaires was utilized to recruit 207 nurses from three public hospitals. Participants reported being moderately satisfied with barcode medication administration, especially with its efficacy and safety aspects. Their satisfaction had a significant negative correlation with their age, nursing experience, and experience using barcode medication administration, and a significant positive correlation with barcode medication-administration training satisfaction, computer competence, comfort with using barcode medication administration, and perceived job productivity using barcode medication administration. This study provides important information about Jordanian nurses' satisfaction with barcode medication-administration technology and provides greater understanding of different clinical correlates to barcode medication-administration satisfaction. It is recommended that effective barcode medication-administration training and computer skills training be provided prior to establishing barcode medication administration in hospitals and that the safety features of barcode medication administration be integrated in clinical education and training.

Using Time-Referenced Data to Assess Medication Administration Performance and Quality.

OBJECTIVE: This study tests the feasibility of using a large (big) clinical data set to test the ability to extract time-referenced data related to medication administration to identify late doses and as-needed (PRN) administration patterns by RNs in an inpatient setting. METHODS: The study is a secondary analysis of a set of data using bar-code medication administration time stamps (n = 3043812) for 50883 patients admitted to a single, urban, 525-bed hospital in 11 inpatient units by 714 nurses between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2015. RESULTS: The large majority of scheduled medications (43.3%) were administered between 9 to 10 AM and 9 to 10 PM accounting for the most amount of delayed doses. On average, patients received 8.9 medications per day, and nurses administered 19.7 medications per shift. The average full-time nurse administered 3414 medications per year. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support use of time-referenced data to identify clinical processes and performance in administering scheduled and PRN medications.

[Changes in drug management of Alzheimer's disease in nursing homes: Impact of the media campaign against specific drugs for Alzheimer's disease]. / Évolution de la prise en charge médicamenteuse de la maladie d'Alzheimer en EHPAD : impact de la campagne médiatique contre les médicaments spécifiques de la maladie d'Alzheimer.

CONTEXT: Alzheimer's disease is a common disease in nursing homes. Evolution is constantly negative and specific treatments, which are only symptomatic, are subject to controversy. In a context of media exposure, the Transparency Committee of the Haute Autorité de santé (HAS) downgraded their medical service in October 2011, seeing it as weak. AIM: Assess the evolution of the consumption of specific treatments for Alzheimer's disease; assess changes in the quality of monitoring in specific consultation. METHODS: This is a retrospective and descriptive study, cross-sectional in three times (T0 January 2011, T1 October 2011 and T2 June 2012), in 6 nursing homes of Lille and its surroundings. RESULTS: In total, 262 residents with dementia and present at least once during the three times of the study were included. Their mean age was 85.8 years. Among them, 40 % had Alzheimer's disease clearly identified. At T0, 76.7 % of patients present who were supposed to receive a specific treatment of Alzheimer's disease were actually receiving such treatment, 73.6 % at T1 and 71.6 % at T2. After 17 months of observation, the discontinuation rate of anticholinesterase was 34 %, 24 % for anti-glutamate. The monitoring in specific consultations decreased slightly between the three stages. CONCLUSION: Our work did not show major impact of the media campaign against specific drugs for Alzheimer's disease. There is however a trend towards a decrease of their consumption in people with dementia living in nursing homes with no obvious link between monitoring in specific consultation and specific prescription. This trend would ask to be confirmed by a study on a larger scale.

Frequency of medication preparation and medication administration errors in a Swiss university Hospital. A prospective observational study / Häufigkeit von Richt- und Abgabefehlern von Medikamenten in einem Schweizer Universitätsspital. Eine prospektive Observationsstudie

Background: Prospective observational studies from Swiss university hospitals, focusing on the frequency of medication preparation and medication administration errors using direct observation, are still missing. To close this gap, we have conducted a scientific evaluation of an electronically assisted medication preparation and administration process in a Swiss university hospital. Aim: The aim of this study was to measure the frequency of medication preparation and medication administration errors in two units in a Swiss university hospital before the implementation of an electronically assisted medication preparation and administration process. Method: To fulfil the study aims we used direct observation of medical staff during the medication process, the gold standard to detect medication errors. Furthermore, we measured the time that medical staff used in order to prepare and administer medications. Results: During the baseline measure, we observed a total of 14 571 medication doses. Errors in the medication preparation stage occurred between 1 % and 7.6 % depending on unit and type of error. Medication administration errors ranged between 21 % and 27 %. The most frequent administration errors were due to wrong administration time (84.1 %). Conclusions: This is the first study conducted in a Swiss university hospital using direct observation to detect medication preparation and medication administration errors. The current study offers important basic data to evaluate the effect of an electronically assisted medication preparation and administration process scientifically.

Cohort study for evaluation of dose omission without justification in a teaching general hospital in Bahia, Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of medication errors due to dose omissions and the reasons for non-administration of medications. DESIGN: A cohort study blinded to the nursing staff was conducted for 5 consecutive days to evaluate administration of prescribed medications to selected inpatients. SETTING: A major academic teaching hospital in Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Dispensed doses to patients in medical and surgical wards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Doses returned to pharmacy were evaluated to identify the rate of dose omission without a justification for omission. RESULTS: Information was collected from 117 patients in 11 wards and 1119 doses of prescribed medications were monitored. Overall, 238/1119 (21%) dispensed doses were not administered to the patients. Among these 238 doses, 138 (58%) had no justification for not being administered. Failure in the administration of at least 1 dose occurred for 58/117 (49.6%) patients. Surgical wards had significantly more missed doses than that in medical wards (P = 0.048). The daily presence of a pharmacist in the wards was significantly correlated with lower frequency of omission errors (P = 0.019). Nervous system medications were missed more significantly than other medications (P < 0.001). No difference was noted in the omission doses in terms of route of administration. CONCLUSIONS: High incidence of omission errors occurs in our institution. Factors such as the deficit of nursing staff and clinical pharmacists and a weak medication dispensing system, probably contributed to incidence detected. Blinding nursing staff was essential to improve the sensibility of the method for detecting omission errors.

SIMulation of Medication Error induced by Clinical Trial drug labeling: the SIMME-CT study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of investigational drug labels on the risk of medication error in drug dispensing. DESIGN: A simulation-based learning program focusing on investigational drug dispensing was conducted. SETTING: The study was undertaken in an Investigational Drugs Dispensing Unit of a University Hospital of Lyon, France. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-three pharmacy workers (pharmacists, residents, technicians or students) were enrolled. INTERVENTION: Ten risk factors were selected concerning label information or the risk of confusion with another clinical trial. Each risk factor was scored independently out of 5: the higher the score, the greater the risk of error. From 400 labels analyzed, two groups were selected for the dispensing simulation: 27 labels with high risk (score ≥3) and 27 with low risk (score ≤2). Each question in the learning program was displayed as a simulated clinical trial prescription. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Medication error was defined as at least one erroneous answer (i.e. error in drug dispensing). For each question, response times were collected. RESULTS: High-risk investigational drug labels correlated with medication error and slower response time. Error rates were significantly 5.5-fold higher for high-risk series. Error frequency was not significantly affected by occupational category or experience in clinical trials. CONCLUSIONS: SIMME-CT is the first simulation-based learning tool to focus on investigational drug labels as a risk factor for medication error. SIMME-CT was also used as a training tool for staff involved in clinical research, to develop medication error risk awareness and to validate competence in continuing medical education.

[Medication administration practices in elderly residential facilities in Ile de France Region in 2014: findings and room for improvement]. / Prise en charge médicamenteuse en établissements d’hébergement pour personnes âgées dépendantes en Île-de-France en 2014 : état des lieux et axes d’amélioration.

The institutions expressed great interest in medication administration systems and tools designed to monitor all stages of medication administration. A dozen simple and pragmatic improvement actions were identified and listed in the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency action plan to improve medication administration management of in EHPAD..

Psychometric Properties of a Tool to Measure Nurses' Attitudes to Single Checking Medications: SCAMS-II.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Single checking medications has been increasingly adopted over the past decade by nurses in Australian healthcare services. However, attitudes toward the practice of only one nurse checking medications remain unclear. The aim of this article is to report on the development, reliability, and validity of a tool to measure nurses' attitudes to single checking medications in a health service in which single checking has been in place for over a decade. METHODS: In a cross-sectional survey design, the Single Checking and Administration of Medications Scale (SCAMS-II) was used to measure the attitudes of 299 registered nurses (RNs) who were single checking medications in one metropolitan teaching hospital in Australia. Exploratory factor analysis was used to explore the dimensions that best represented the SCAMS-II. Cronbach's α was used to assess internal consistency of the identified subscales. To test the construct validity of the emergent questionnaire, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Rasch analyses were performed. RESULTS: The psychometric properties of the SCAMS-II revealed 12 items with three reliable subscales: a five-item accountability model; a four-item efficiency model; and a three-item knowledge model. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION: In settings where single checking is current practice, the SCAMS-II is recommended as a reliable tool to measure nurses' attitudes toward the single checking of medications. The findings from this study may assist healthcare organizations in the development of policy and procedure guidelines for the safe administration of medications.

A national survey of inpatient medication systems in English NHS hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Systems and processes for prescribing, supplying and administering inpatient medications can have substantial impact on medication administration errors (MAEs). However, little is known about the medication systems and processes currently used within the English National Health Service (NHS). This presents a challenge for developing NHS-wide interventions to increase medication safety. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional postal census of medication systems and processes in English NHS hospitals to address this knowledge gap. METHODS: The chief pharmacist at each of all 165 acute NHS trusts was invited to complete a questionnaire for medical and surgical wards in their main hospital (July 2011). We report here the findings relating to medication systems and processes, based on 18 closed questions plus one open question about local medication safety initiatives. Non-respondents were posted another questionnaire (August 2011), and then emailed (October 2011). RESULTS: One hundred (61% of NHS trusts) questionnaires were returned. Most hospitals used paper-based prescribing on the majority of medical and surgical inpatient wards (87% of hospitals), patient bedside medication lockers (92%), patients' own drugs (89%) and 'one-stop dispensing' medication labelled with administration instructions for use at discharge as well as during the inpatient stay (85%). Less prevalent were the use of ward pharmacy technicians (62% of hospitals) or pharmacists (58%) to order medications on the majority of wards. Only 65% of hospitals used drug trolleys; 50% used patient-specific inpatient supplies on the majority of wards. Only one hospital had a pharmacy open 24 hours, but all had access to an on-call pharmacist. None reported use of unit-dose dispensing; 7% used an electronic drug cabinet in some ward areas. Overall, 85% of hospitals had a double-checking policy for intravenous medication and 58% for other specified drugs. "Do not disturb" tabards/overalls were routinely used during nurses' drug rounds on at least one ward in 59% of hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Inter- and intra-hospital variations in medication systems and processes exist, even within the English NHS; future research should focus on investigating their potential effects on nurses' workflow and MAEs, and developing NHS-wide interventions to reduce MAEs.

Drug handling in a paediatric intensive care unit--can errors be prevented by a three-step intervention?

BACKGROUND: Drug handling in paediatric intensive care units (PICU) is prone to medication errors. We aimed to identify type and prevalence of those errors and to assess preventative interventions. METHODS: Prospective intervention study investigating a 3-step intervention for preventing errors in drug handling in a 10-bed PICU of a university hospital. Nurses' drug handling was monitored in daily routine to identify the number of patients affected by errors and overall prevalence and types of errors in drug handling. We implemented a comprehensive intervention consisting of an information handout, a training course, and a 76-page reference book tailored to reduce the prevalence. RESULTS: The prevalence of errors in drug handling decreased from 83 % (555 errors/668 processes)to 63 % (554/883; p < 0.001) after the intervention. The number of affected patients remained unchanged (95 % vs. 89 %, p = 0.370).Peroral (PO) drugs (1.33 errors/process) were more error-prone than intravenous (IV) drugs(0.64), despite being used less frequently (27 % vs.73 % of all processes, p < 0.001). The interventions decreased the prevalence to 0.77 errors/process(p < 0.001) in PO and to 0.52 in IV drugs (p = 0.025). CONCLUSION: Errors in drug handling were alarmingly frequent. PO drugs were frequently subject to errors, even though being used less frequently. The implementation of a comprehensive intervention succeeded in reducing the prevalence of errors. Yet further refinements are necessary to decrease also the number of affected patients.

Workarounds and obstacles: unexpected source of innovation.

Nurse leaders are aware that nurses are finding ways to adapt health information technology to patient care activities. Previous literature has presented nurses' response to technology obstacles as a work-around, characterized as a negative behavior. Using narrative inquiry, this article examines 9 direct care nurses' interactions on a medical/surgical/telemetry unit. Specifically, nurses' encounters with technology obstacles will be addressed from a complexity science perspective. Four support staff including the clinical nurse manager, pharmacist, quality nurse, and project manager who is also a nurse were interviewed as part of data collection. Complexity science provides nurse leaders' insight into nurses' behavior where outcomes emerge from tensions in the environment through multidirectional and self-organizing interactions. Innovation was found when nurses responded to health information technology obstacles with self-organizing interactions, sensitivity to initial conditions, and multidirectionality. Their actions were also influenced by many sets of rules. Nurses self-organized with coworkers to find better ways to deliver care to patients when using technology. Opportunities exist for nurse leaders to facilitate interactions among nurses and other members of the organization to realize better use of health information technology that improves the patient experience.

Study of nurse workarounds in a hospital using bar code medication administration system.

This study analyzed registered nurse workarounds in an academic medical center using bar code medication administration technology. Nurse focus groups and a survey were used to determine the frequency and potential causes of workarounds. More than half of the nurses surveyed indicated that they administered medications without scanning the patient or medications during the last shift worked. Benefits of this study include considerations when implementing bar code medication administration technology that may minimize the development of these workarounds in practice.

Unauthorized medication collections on inpatient units.

BACKGROUND: Unauthorized medication collections (UMCs) on inpatient (IP) units represent a potential source of medication errors. UMCs are collections of medications not approved for storage and immediate access on IP units. We sought to establish whether UMCs were present on IP units in a suburban acute care hospital and to document the characteristics of any UMCs found. METHODS: In this descriptive study, we searched all of the IP units in the hospital for unauthorized medications. We checked all medications found against current ward-stock lists to determine whether they were authorized, and we classified unauthorized medications into the following categories: high-alert, easily confused, expired and improperly stored medications, and controlled substances. All unauthorized medications found in various locations on a unit were considered one collection. We counted the number of unique products and total number of medications and calculated the total dollar value of the medications in each UMC. RESULTS: A UMC was found on each of the 17 IP units in the study hospital, resulting in a total of 656 unauthorized medications constituting 163 unique products. We documented high-alert, easily confused and expired medications and controlled substances. No unauthorized medications were improperly stored. DISCUSSION: Investigations are needed to determine why these UMCs exist and to formulate mechanisms to eliminate them. Knowing that UMCs may be present, nurses should search their workspace and remove any UMCs they find. They should also examine their nursing practice to determine if they are contributing to this unsafe practice.

Prescribing errors in hospital inpatients: a three-centre study of their prevalence, types and causes.

AIM: To compare the prevalence and causes of prescribing errors in newly written medication orders and how quickly they were rectified, in three NHS organisations. METHODS: Errors in newly written inpatient and discharge medication orders were recorded in Spring/Summer 2009 by ward pharmacists on medical admissions and surgical wards, as well as the number of erroneous doses administered (or omitted) before errors were corrected. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the effects of ward (nested within organisation) and clinical specialty, and whether the pharmacist had checked the patient's medication history during data collection. Causes were explored using semistructured interviews with key informants. RESULTS: Overall, 1025 prescribing errors were identified in 974 of 6605 medication orders (14.7%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 13.8% to 15.6%). A mean of 0.9 doses were administered (or omitted) before each error was corrected (range 0-11), with differences between specialties and organisations. The error rate on medical admissions wards (16.3%) was significantly higher than that on surgical wards (12.2%), but this was accounted for by the higher proportion of prescribing being on admission, where omission of patients' usual medication was often identified. There were significant differences among wards (and organisations). Contributing factors included lack of feedback on errors, poor documentation and communication of prescribing decisions, and lack of information about patients' medication histories from primary care. CONCLUSIONS: There were variations among wards, organisations and specialties in error rates and how quickly they were rectified. Exploring reasons for differences between organisations may be useful in identifying best practice and potential solutions.

Electronically assisted prescription will minimise drug transcription errors.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of administration errors when transcribing treatments to nurses' administration forms, and to estimate the impact of electronically assisted prescription (EAP) in minimising these errors. METHOD: A prospective, observational study in hospitalised patients. In a representative sample changes in treatment in the 24 h before the examination are analysed. Transcription errors were detected when checking the discrepancies between the medical prescription and the nurses' treatment administration forms. Error incidence was calculated as a whole and by ward, type of error, administration route and their potential danger. The possible reduction in new errors per day if the EAP were to be introduced in all units was estimated. RESULTS: Of the 416 prescriptions recorded, the overall percentage of transcription errors was 12.4%, 9.8% in medical units and 15.2% in surgical units. Most of the errors were made when a new medicine was added (29.4%) and the frequency of administration was changed (27.4%). With regard to their gravity, 98% did not harm the patients, and 57.7% were filed as "Category C". Taking into account that 1 change of treatment is made per patient per day, the introduction of the EAP is predicted to prevent 64 new errors daily in the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: There are so many transcription errors that they should be taken into account when designing strategies to improve care quality. EAP is an efficient tool to eliminate errors associated with the transcription of prescriptions.

[Monitoring medication errors in personalised dispensing using the Sentinel Surveillance System method]. / Monitorización de errores de medicación en dispensación individualizada mediante el método del carro centinela.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of a new quality control strategy based on daily randomised sampling and monitoring a Sentinel Surveillance System (SSS) medication cart, in order to identify medication errors and their origin at different levels of the process. METHOD: Prospective quality control study with one year follow-up. A SSS medication cart was randomly selected once a week and double-checked before dispensing medication. Medication errors were recorded before it was taken to the relevant hospital ward. Information concerning complaints after receiving medication and 24-hour monitoring were also noted. Type and origin error data were assessed by a Unit Dose Quality Control Group, which proposed relevant improvement measures. RESULTS: Thirty-four SSS carts were assessed, including 5130 medication lines and 9952 dispensed doses, corresponding to 753 patients. Ninety erroneous lines (1.8%) and 142 mistaken doses (1.4%) were identified at the Pharmacy Department. The most frequent error was dose duplication (38%) and its main cause inappropriate management and forgetfulness (69%). Fifty medication complaints (6.6% of patients) were mainly due to new treatment at admission (52%), and 41 (0.8% of all medication lines), did not completely match the prescription (0.6% lines) as recorded by the Pharmacy Department. Thirty-seven (4.9% of patients) medication complaints due to changes at admission and 32 matching errors (0.6% medication lines) were recorded. The main cause also was inappropriate management and forgetfulness (24%). The simultaneous recording of incidences due to complaints and new medication coincided in 33.3%. In addition, 433 (4.3%) of dispensed doses were returned to the Pharmacy Department. After the Unit Dose Quality Control Group conducted their feedback analysis, 64 improvement measures for Pharmacy Department nurses, 37 for pharmacists, and 24 for the hospital ward were introduced. CONCLUSIONS: The SSS programme has proven to be useful as a quality control strategy to identify Unit Dose Distribution System errors at initial, intermediate and final stages of the process, improving the involvement of the Pharmacy Department and ward nurses.

[Survey of drug dispensing errors in hospital wards]. / Kórházi osztályok gyógyszerosztással összefüggo gyógyszerelési hibáinak közvetlen megfigyelése.

UNLABELLED: Medication errors occur very frequently. The limited knowledge of contributing factors and risks prevents the development and testing of successful preventive strategies. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differences between the ordered and dispensed drugs, and to identify the risks during medication. METHODS: Prospective direct observation at two inpatient hospital wards. RESULTS: The number of observed doses was 775 and the number of ordered doses was 806. It was found that from the total opportunities of 803 errors 114 errors occurred in dispensed drugs corresponding to an error rate of 14.1%. Among the different types of errors, the most important errors were: dispensing inappropriate doses (25.4%), unauthorized tablet halving or crushing (24.6%), omission errors (16.4%) and dispensing an active ingredient different from the ordered (14.2%). 87% of drug dispensing errors were considered as errors with minor consequences, while 13% of errors were potentially serious. CONCLUSIONS: Direct observation of the drug dispensing procedure appears to be an appropriate method to observe errors in medication of hospital wards. The results of the study and the identified risks are worth to be reconsidered and prevention measures should be applied to everyday health care practice to improve patient safety.