An intravenous medication safety system: preventing high-risk medication errors at the point of care

Improving medication safety at the point of care--particularly for high-risk drugs--is a major concern of nursing administrators. The medication errors most likely to cause harm are administration errors related to infusion of high-risk medications. An intravenous medication safety system is designed to prevent high-risk infusion medication errors and to capture continuous quality improvement data for best practice improvement. Initial testing with 50 systems in 2 units at Vanderbilt University Medical Center revealed that, even in the presence of a fully mature computerized prescriber order-entry system, the new safety system averted 99 potential infusion errors in 8 months.     

Intravenous medication safety system averts high-risk medication errors and provides actionable data

A major responsibility of nursing leaders is to implement systems and policies to improve patient and staff safety, avoid medication errors, and most importantly safeguard patients against harm. In the medication use process, the nurse at the bedside is the most vulnerable, and intravenous (i.v.) drug administration often results in the most serious medication error outcomes. At a 675-bed, tertiary-care "Magnet Hospital System," nurses played a key role in a multidisciplinary process that led to successful implementation of a computerized i.v. medication safety system. Software customization, staff training and product set-up were completed in approximately 2 months; 685 devices were installed in 3 hospitals within 12 hours. Nursing acceptance is excellent, and implementation of the system is thought to enhance nursing retention and recruitment. Preliminary data indicate an estimated 849 programming changes ("near misses") annually, ie, potential infusion errors averted by the i.v. medication safety system. A chronogram created from safety data demonstrates that most infusion error warnings occurred between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM, with an unexpected peak at 6:00 PM. Implementation of the i.v. medication safety system has prevented potentially serious infusion errors and has provided previously unavailable, actionable continuous quality improvement data for best practice improvements.     

Nursing student medication errors: a retrospective review

This article presents the findings of a retrospective review of medication errors made and reported by nursing students in a 4-year baccalaureate program. Data were examined in relation to the semester of the program, kind of error according to the rights of medication administration, and contributing factors. Three categories of contributing factors were identified: rights violations, system factors, and knowledge and understanding. It became apparent that system factors, or the context in which medication administration takes place, are not fully considered when students are taught about medication administration. Teaching strategies need to account for the dynamic complexity of this process and incorporate experiential knowledge. This review raised several important questions about how this information guides our practice as educators in the clinical and classroom settings and how we can work collaboratively with practice partners to influence change and increase patient safety.     

An overview of intravenous-related medication administration errors as reported to MEDMARX, a national medication error-reporting program.

Medication errors can be harmful, especially if they involve the intravenous (IV) route of administration. A mixed-methodology study using a 5-year review of 73,769 IV-related medication errors from a national medication error reporting program indicates that between 3% and 5% of these errors were harmful. The leading type of error was omission, and the leading cause of error involved clinician performance deficit. Using content analysis, three themes-product shortage, calculation errors, and tubing interconnectivity-emerge and appear to predispose patients to harm. Nurses often participate in IV therapy, and these findings have implications for practice and patient safety. Voluntary medication error-reporting programs afford an opportunity to improve patient care and to further understanding about the nature of IV-related medication errors.     

Intravenous medication safety and smart infusion systems: lessons learned and future opportunities.

The Institute of Medicine report To Err Is Human: Building a Safe Health System greatly increased national awareness of the need to improve patient safety in general and medication safety in particular. Infusion-related errors are associated with the greatest risk of harm, and "smart" (computerized) infusion systems are currently available that can avert high-risk errors and provide previously unavailable data for continuous quality improvement (CQI) efforts. As healthcare organizations consider how to invest scarce dollars, infusion nurses have a key role to play in assessing need, evaluating technology, and selecting and implementing specific products. This article reviews the need to improve intravenous medication safety. It describes smart infusion systems and the results they have achieved. Finally, it details the lessons learned and the opportunities identified through the use of smart infusion technology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.     

自制护理用药安全手册用于患者安全管理

目的：了解目前临床用药中护理差错发生的原因,探索相应的对策以确保用药安全。方法针对2011年医院41个护理单元上报用药不良事件及11月开展用药安全专项检查存在的问题进行原因分析,制定用药安全手册,包括健全各种用药安全管理组织及制度,收集临床多品种、多规格、看似听似药品拍成图片进行比对,临床应控制滴速、接触易发生反应药物,药物配制信息,药物配伍禁忌,宜从中心静脉输注的药物,高危药物外渗紧急处理,抢救药物药理知识,以表格形式进行罗列。规范使用药物流程、组织培训与考核等一系列措施。结果2012年护理用药不良事件总数较2011年减少15起,下降18．5％。与2011年相比,2012年用药专项月检查存在问题,通过护理用药安全手册的制作与应用,加强了用药安全管理,促进护理人员掌握药品管理及用药知识,有效提高了护理人员用药安全能力,保障了患者用药安全。结论该手册为护士临床用药安全提供参考,起到临床用药指引作用,有效提高了护理人员用药能力。     

The Impacts of using community health volunteers to coach medication safety behaviors among rural elders with chronic illnesses

It is a challenge for rural health professionals to promote medication safety among older adults taking multiple medications. A volunteer coaching program to promote medication safety among rural elders with chronic illnesses was designed and evaluated. A community-based interventional study randomly assigned 62 rural elders with at least two chronic illnesses to routine care plus volunteer coaching or routine care alone. The volunteer coaching group received a medication safety program, including a coach and reminders by well-trained volunteers, as well as three home visits and five telephone calls over a two-month period. All the subjects received routine medication safety instructions for their chronic illnesses. The program was evaluated using pre- and post-tests of knowledge, attitude and behaviors with regard to medication safety. Results show the volunteer coaching group improved their knowledge of medication safety, but there was no change in attitude after the two-month study period. Moreover, the group demonstrated three improved medication safety behaviors compared to the routine care group. The volunteer coaching program and instructions with pictorial aids can provide a reference for community health professionals who wish to improve the medication safety of chronically ill elders.     

药物微泵标识在重症监护病房病人用药安全管理中的应用

[目的]探讨药物微泵标识在重症监护病房(ICU)病人用药安全管理中的应用。[方法]分析影响安全用药因素,制订药物标识化管理制度,实行药物微泵标识管理,并进行持续质量改进。[结果]ICU微泵用药安全性提高,未发生相关微泵药物不良事件。[结论]在ICU病人用药安全管理中应用便捷的药物微泵标识,可以降低微泵用药差错的发生,提高用药安全。     

Clinical decision support for drug related events: Moving towards better prevention

Clinical decision support (CDS) systems with automated alerts integrated into electronic medical records demonstrate efficacy for detecting medication errors (ME) and adverse drug events (ADEs). Critically ill patients are at increased risk for ME, ADEs and serious negative outcomes related to these events. Capitalizing on CDS to detect ME and prevent adverse drug related events has the potential to improve patient outcomes. The key to an effective medication safety surveillance system incorporating CDS is advancing the signals for alerts by using trajectory analyses to predict clinical events, instead of waiting for these events to occur. Additionally, incorporating cutting-edge biomarkers into alert knowledge in an effort to identify the need to adjust medication therapy portending harm will advance the current state of CDS. CDS can be taken a step further to identify drug related physiological events, which are less commonly included in surveillance systems. Predictive models for adverse events that combine patient factors with laboratory values and biomarkers are being established and these models can be the foundation for individualized CDS alerts to prevent impending ADEs.     

A controlled trial of smart infusion pumps to improve medication safety in critically ill patients

OBJECTIVE: Intravenous medications are vital during inpatient management. Errors associated with the administration of medications through intravenous infusion pumps to critically ill patients can result in adverse drug events. We sought to assess the impact of smart pumps with integrated decision support software on the incidence and nature of medication errors and adverse drug events. DESIGN: We performed a prospective, randomized time-series trial and compared the serious medication error rate between intervention (decision support on) and control (decision support off) periods. Serious medication errors included both near-misses and preventable adverse drug events. Pump software produced log reports to help identify potential events. Events were presented to physicians for rating of event type, preventability, and severity. SETTING: Cardiac surgical intensive care and step-down units between February and December 2002. PATIENTS: Pump data were available for 744 cardiac surgery admissions. INTERVENTIONS: Decision support during medication administration provided feedback including alerts, reminders, and unit-specific drug rate limits. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We found a total of 180 serious medication errors, including 14 and 11 preventable adverse drug events and 73 and 82 nonintercepted potential adverse drug events in the control and intervention periods, respectively. The serious medication error rates in the control and intervention periods were 2.03 and 2.41 per 100 patient-pump-days, respectively (p = .124). We also found numerous opportunities for safety improvement. Violations of infusion practice during the intervention periods included 571 (25%) bypasses of the drug library. Medications were also frequently administered without documentation of physician orders in both periods (n = 823; 7.7%). CONCLUSION: Intravenous medication errors and adverse drug events were frequent and could be detected using smart pumps. We found no measurable impact on the serious medication error rate, likely in part due to poor compliance. Although smart pumps have great promise, technological and nursing behavioral factors must be addressed if these pumps are to achieve their potential for improving medication safety.     

老年冠心病患者用药知识、信念及行为的调查与分析

目的通过对干部门诊老年冠心病(coronary heart disease,CHD)患者用药知识、信念、行为及其影响因素的调查与分析,为患者进一步实施用药知识教育提供帮助。方法随机整群抽取4个干休所的124名老年冠心病患者,采用自行设计调查问卷对用药知识、信念与行为进行调查、评估与分析。结果74.2%的老年冠心病患者用药知识欠缺,既往因冠心病住院的次数、现患慢性病种类数、离(退)休前的工作性质是影响患者掌握用药知识的因素;50%以上的老年冠心病患者用药行为关键方面依从性差,既往1年内药物不良反应发生种类数可能影响患者的用药行为;老年冠心病患者用药知识、信念及行为未完全达到统一。结论门诊老年冠心病患者在疾病控制过程中,需要更多系统、持续、不断更新的用药知识,以促进其树立正确的用药观念,建立良好的用药行为。     

Adverse drug reaction and medication error reporting by pharmacy students

BACKGROUND: The reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and medication errors is the responsibility of all who are involved, particularly pharmacists. Since pharmacists are often privy to information surrounding ADRs and medication errors, it is of utmost importance that they are educated regarding the procedures of reporting. OBJECTIVE: To determine pharmacy students' knowledge of and ability to report ADRs and medication errors. METHODS: A total of 1322 students from 9 colleges of pharmacy were surveyed. RESULTS: The largest group of respondents was fifth-year pharmacy students (38%) followed by third-, fourth-, and sixth-year students (28%, 26%, and 8%, respectively). The majority of students reported learning about ADR and medication error reporting programs via didactic experiences. In comparison, fewer students cited alternative mechanisms of learning, including experiential rotations and work experience. Overall, respondents demonstrated the most experience with MedWatch and the least experience with the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). As students progressed through pharmacy curricula, there was a positive trend in the ability to locate and complete MedWatch forms. For VAERS and Medication Error Reporting (MER) program forms, however, this positive trend was broken at year 4. For all programs, significantly fewer students demonstrated appropriate use of the forms compared with those indicating familiarity with the programs. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that students are becoming familiar with ADR and MER programs via the college curriculum; however, there is opportunity for greater exposure and understanding. Colleges of pharmacy should continually seek methods to strengthen the education provided to pharmacy students regarding these programs.     

Frequency, consequences and prevention of adverse drug events

Iatrogenic injuries are important because they are frequent and many may be preventable; those caused by therapeutic drugs are among the most frequent. While medication errors are common, most have little potential for harm. However, some errors, such as giving a patient a drug to which they have a known allergy, are more likely to cause injury. Error theory provides insights into the changes required to reduce medication error injury rates. Data from the Adverse Drug Event (ADE) Prevention study suggest that most serious errors occur at the ordering and dispensing stages, while another, smaller, proportion occur at the administration stage. These data suggest that physician computer-order entry, where physicians write orders on-line with decision support, including patient-specific information and alerts about potential problems, has the potential to significantly reduce the number of serious medication errors.     

Doctor-Related Medication Safety Incidents on a Specialist Palliative Medicine Inpatient Unit: A Retrospective Analysis of Three Years of Voluntary Reporting

Patients receiving palliative care and those at the end of life are known to be susceptible to medical errors. Errors related to medications are the most avoidable cause of patient harm. This retrospective study examined reported anonymized medication safety incidents, related to physician errors, assessed by the risk committee in a specialist palliative care unit over a 3-year time period. The aim of the study was to describe medication errors, with specific attention paid to what type of errors occurred and when these errors happened. Of the 218 reported medication safety incidents 28% (n = 62) were related to doctor prescribing. The data showed that there was a wide variation per year in the numbers of reported medication safety incidents. Medication prescribing errors were the most common error, followed by medication omissions. Medication safety incidents are at least in part dependent on staff reporting. Fostering a culture of openness that is blame free is crucial to medication error reporting. Formal reporting may help to increase patient safety and forms an essential element in the clinical governance and risk management of an institution.     

Implementation of an intravenous medication infusion pump system: implications for nursing

AIM: To assess perceptions of nurses regarding the implementation of intravenous medication infusion system technology and its impact on nursing care, reporting of medication errors and job satisfaction. BACKGROUND: Medication errors are placing patients at high risk and creating an economic burden for hospitals and health care providers. Infusion pumps are available to decrease errors and promote safety. METHODS: Survey of 1056 nurses in a tertiary care Magnet hospital, using the Infusion System Perception Scale. Response rate was 65.43%. RESULTS: Nurses perceived the system would enhance their ability to provide quality nursing care, reduce medication errors. Job satisfaction was related to higher ratings of the management team and nursing staff. Perceptions verified the pump was designed to promote safe nursing practices. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider relationships with job satisfaction, safe nursing practice and the importance of ratings of nursing staff and management teams when implementing infusion technology. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Infusion pumps are perceived by nurses to enhance safe nursing practice. Results stress the importance of management teams in sociotechnological transformations and their impact on job satisfaction among nurses.