Standardize and Safeguard Medication Administration
Standardize and Safeguard Medication Administration
This actionable evidence-based practice blueprint provides a checklist for clinicians to create an action plan to standardize and safeguard medication administration and ensure best patient care. This document is revised as needed to incorporate the latest best practices and gold standard of care. The e-book is available free of charge to anyone. © 2022 Patient Safety Movement Foundation.
Contributors:
PSMF Team The Challenge
Studies have estimated that medication administration errors in hospitals and long-term care facilities may occur in 8–25% of cases, with an even higher rate of 48–53% in cases involving intravenous medications. Globally, medication administration errors occur in 8% to 16% of doses in hospitals. Additionally, patients and family members are also involved in medication administration, with errors occurring in the home in 2–33% of cases, according to estimates. Since medication errors are strongly underreported, current figures are likely to underestimate the actual medication error rates. Improving the safety of medication administration for better long-term patient outcomes and significant cost savings for healthcare organizations is essential. This document provides a blueprint with actionable steps that organizations can implement to successfully improve medication administration.
