Safety of medication administration by nurses in inpatient healthcare facilities: a review of the literature
Abstract
Medication administration by a nurse is one of the riskiest processes in a healthcare facility in which medication error occurs, despite the fact the medication is under the direct control of the healthcare professional. The aim of this work was to create an overview of the published literature and to discuss results regarding medication administration to inpatients by the nurse in healthcare facilities focussing, with emphasis on medication errors related to this activity.
During the search, we identified 250 papers in the PubMed database, of which 43 studies met the inclusion criteria, and were used to compile the review. We found medication administration error (MAE) very common.
We identify the direct observation method as the most suitable and reliable.