Environmental Issues Related to Medication Errors in Long-Term Care: Lessons From the Literature
2009
HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 2
Pages 42-59
Author(s): Mahmood, A., Chaudhury, H., Gaumont, A.
Medication errors contribute significantly to patient illness and mortality and are costly to the healthcare system. This is especially true for elderly patients in long-term care facilities. While the specific definition of medication error often varies from study to study, these errors typically occur when a physician's orders, the manufacturer's guidelines, or professional best practices in drug, dose, route, or timing are not properly followed. They can arise during ordering, dispensing, or administering medication.
Added September 2014
Effect of bar-code-assisted medication administration on medication error rates in an adult medical intensive care unit
2009
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 66
Pages 1110-5
Author(s): DeYoung, J. L., Vanderkooi, M. E., Barletta, J. F.
Added September 2014
The Effect of Environmental Design on Reducing Nursing Errors and Increasing Efficiency in Acute Care Settings: A Review and Analysis of the Literature
2009
Environment and Behavior
Journal Article
Issue 6
Volume 41
Pages 755-786
Author(s): Chaudhury, H., Mahmood, A., Valente, M.
In acute care settings, the physical environment plays an important role in staff efficiency and patient safety. Some research suggests that poor environments can result in staff stress, anxiety, and distractions due to noise; artificial lighting; improper or inadequate ventilation; and disorienting layouts of nursing units. There is less research on how environmental factors affect nursing staff health, effectiveness, errors, and job satisfaction.
Added April 2014
Using a Task Analysis to Describe Nursing Work in Acute Care Patient Environments
2009
Journal of Nursing Administration
Journal Article
Issue 12
Volume 39
Pages 537-547
Author(s): Battisto, D., Pak, R., Vander Wood, M. A., Pilcher, J. J.
A growing body of research demonstrates linkages between workplace design and processes in healthcare facilities with staff and patient safety, operational efficiency, staff satisfaction, and medical errors. There has been less emphasis on the role of the built environment in helping or hindering care delivery. Research is needed on the contextualized activities performed by nurses and how nurses spend their time to measure the effects of interventions aimed at redesigning care to improve safety or efficiency or to understand the implications of policy changes for nursing practice.
Added April 2014
Threading Needles in the Dark: The Effect of the Physical Work Environment on Nursing Practice
2009
Critical Care Nursing Quarterly
Journal Article
Issue 1
Volume 32
Pages 70–74
Author(s): Simmons, D., Graves, K., Flynn, E. A.
People’s ability to perform reliably and safely relies on the physical work environment. Nowhere is this connection more critical than in healthcare environments, which can be noisy, dimly lit, and chaotic. The United States Pharmacopeia addresses this issue in its draft general chapter of standards, “Physical Environments that Promote Safe Medication Use,” which specifies work environment guidelines to support efficient and safe medication use.
Added February 2014
Direct cellular vs. indirect pager communication during orthopaedic surgical procedures: A prospective study
2009
Technology and Health Care
Journal Article
Issue 2
Volume 17
Pages 149-157
Author(s): Ortega, G. R., Taksali, S., Smart, R., Baumgaertner, M. R.
Staff-to-staff communication is critical to quality and efficient healthcare. Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers all use various methods of communication in their daily work. Difficulties in staff communication often lead to interruptions and delays in patient care, variation in response time, medical errors, violation of privacy, and dissatisfaction in patient and staff.
Added October 2012
Risk-Informed Interventions in Community Pharmacy: Implementation and Evaluation
2009
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 2009 Annual Conference
Conference Proceedings
Author(s): Cohen, M., , Smetzer, J.
Added October 2012