A scoping review of the literature examined strategies to prevent infusion-associated medication errors. Twenty articles were appraised and revealed studies using different research designs and types of literature reviews. Most were rated low quality. Observations in clinical agencies and laboratory settings were sites of some investigations. The work environment—including staffing, health care providers' education and supervision, standardizing equipment, protocols that supported medication decision-making and administration processes, medication lists, computerized devices, and cognitive aids—were addressed as strategies. The array of studies points to aspects of the complexity of the administration process for infusion-associated medications.
La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Zane Robinson Wolf, PhD, RN, FAAN, is dean emerita, professor in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences of La Salle University in Philadelphia. Her interest in medication errors and nurses' experience with them motivated her to conduct this scoping review. Adverse outcomes of infusion-associated medication errors are often more severe than those involving oral medications. Additional research needs to be conducted on protocols and standardized equipment to determine the impact of such safety strategies on infusion-linked medication errors.
Corresponding Author: Zane Robinson Wolf, PhD, RN, FAAN, La Salle University, Nursing Programs, 1900 West Olney Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19141 (wolf@lasalle.edu).
The author of this article has no conflicts of interests to disclose.
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