Nurses' Experiences toward Perception of Medication Administration Errors Reporting

Abstract

Background: Patient safety is a significant challenge facing healthcare systems today. An important part of patient safety is the issue of medication administration within the acute-care setting that has long been the focus of scrutiny and research because it contributes directly to patient morbidity and mortality. Aim: The current study aimed to assess the input from nurses based on their clinical experiences towards perception of occurrence and reporting of medication administration errors, as well as the extent to which errors are reported on their units. Design: The study used a descriptive cross-sectional survey using self-report questionnaire. Setting: The present study was carried out in all departments of King Khalid Public Governorate Hospital in Hafer El-Batin at Kingdom Saudi Arabia. Subjects: A convenience sample of 253 nursing staff worked in the previous mentioned setting. Tools: The data gathering tool was Medication Administration Errors (MAEs) Reporting Questionnaire which was developed by Wakefield et al. (1996) and was modified by the researchers. It contained 65 questions; 29 items regarding reasons why medication errors occur, 16 items regarding reasons why medication errors not reporting and 20 items regarding what percentage of each type of medication error actually reported on units which divided into 9 items for non intravenous and 11 items for intravenous medication administration errors. Results: This study suggested five categories for reasons of why MAEs occur and three categories for reasons of why MAEs not reporting. Nurses perceive low percentages of MAEs reporting. Emergency room was more likely to report medication administration errors than other units. Conclusion: Medication errors are common in clinical practice. Actually, reducing these errors requires the commitment of everyone with a stake in keeping patients safe; physician who wrote the prescription, pharmacist who dispensed it and the nurse who received the medicine and administered to the patient, all play an important role in preventing medication errors reaching to patient. Recommendation: This study recommended for provision of ongoing education & training on safe medication administration and utilization of medication information guide though developing self-report logbook.