Errors in drug administration: knowledge diffusion and identification of the patients as important aspects

Abstract

The administration of medications is a multi-system process. Errors can happen in all the stages of that process. Strategies can be used and it should be published to minimize the occurrence of errors. This study had the following objectives: to identify and to analyze publications with themes about the administration of medication in nursing, hospital and pharmacy journals and to verify the identification in the bed and in the patients' forearm in impatient clinics. To reach the first objective it was realized a revision of the literature in three journals of larger national circulation of the described areas, in the period from 1987 to 1997. The identified articles were classified in 5 types: nursing staff, teaching, medications, research and technique. It was identified 19 articles on the thematic studied, being 42.1% of these related to the technical aspects of the administration of medications. To reach the second objective it was taken an investigation of one day, chosen accidentally, being verified the identification of the beds and the patients in the 360 beds of the institution. Of these, 74.7% were busy and 75.8% properly identified. It was observed that 23.8% of the patients have gotten bracelet of placed identification, in the day previous to the surgery and not in the moment of the hospitalization. The results evidenced the need to increase the publication of the studies about errors and to increase actions that minimize the occurrence of errors in the medication in impatient patients.