We conducted a feasibility study to test an intervention to reduce medication omissions without documentation using nurse-initiated recall cards and medication chart checking at handover. No significant difference in the omission rate per 100 medications was found, although after adjusting for hospital and patient age, a significant effect occurred in the intervention group (n = 262 patients) compared with the control group (n = 272). This intervention may reduce medication omissions without documentation, requiring further study within larger samples.
Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Dr Johnson); Centre for Applied Nursing Research, South Western Sydney Local Health District & University of Western Sydney, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia (affiliated with the Ingham Institute, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia) (Dr Johnson and Mss Sanchez and Zheng); School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia (Ms Zheng); Fairfield Hospital, Fairfield, New South Wales, Australia (Ms Chapman); and South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia (Ms Chapman).
Correspondence: Maree Johnson, PhD, RN, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, 40 Edward St, North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia (maree.johnson@acu.edu.au).
This study was funded by Nursing and Midwifery Office Innovation Scholarship Grant from NSW Ministry of Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The authors give special thanks to Ms Binita Kumar, RN, for her contribution in data collection.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Accepted for publication: July 29, 2016
Published ahead of print: September 8, 2016
