Prevention of Medication Errors among Geriatric Patients: Scoping Review
Koralalage Dona Sri, Sewmi Tharindi Kalutara (2024)
2024
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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121435803
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024121435803
Tiivistelmä
This Scoping review focuses on preventing medication errors (MEs) among geriatric patients. Unfortunately, nursing care has the highest number of errors in the healthcare industry, with half of patient harm occurring due to MEs. Healthcare professionals could prevent half of the harm.
The number of older adults aged 60 and above grows fast and multimorbidity conditions are common. Therefore, polypharmacy, or the use of multiple medications per person, has become prevalent. Older adults are at higher risk of experiencing MEs. Most MEs occur in the preparation and administration stages of the medication process. The healthcare providers could naively harm patients through MEs and adverse drug effects (ADE). Nurses have a key responsibility to prevent these errors while adhering to the guidelines and enhancing knowledge.
Using Benner's theory from novice to expert (1984a) as an approach to understanding how nursing staff in all categorizations of five nursing capabilities – novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert – use their knowledge and skills as well as follow policies to prevent MEs and ADEs. Benner’s theory applied to the nursing profession adapted from Dreyfus model of skill acquisition or nursing clinical competencies. The information was gathered through databases of CINAHL, GreenFILE, and Medline. Out of 67 articles , 16 articles from the years 2019 to 2024 were selected for the analysis.
The review emphasizes that MEs occur due to a lack of nurses’ knowledge and skills, attitudes, and failure to adhering to standard organizational procedures. As healthcare providers nurses play a major role in sometimes, prescribing and mostly, administering medications in hospitals and elderly homes. A nurse’s key responsibility is to ensure accuracy in the prescribing, preparation, administration, and deprescribing stages to prevent MEs. This review also highlights the challenges nurses face in preventing MEs, such as tight schedules at work, current nursing practices that lead to MEs, barriers to preventing MEs documentation, and medication management through digital tools.
The number of older adults aged 60 and above grows fast and multimorbidity conditions are common. Therefore, polypharmacy, or the use of multiple medications per person, has become prevalent. Older adults are at higher risk of experiencing MEs. Most MEs occur in the preparation and administration stages of the medication process. The healthcare providers could naively harm patients through MEs and adverse drug effects (ADE). Nurses have a key responsibility to prevent these errors while adhering to the guidelines and enhancing knowledge.
Using Benner's theory from novice to expert (1984a) as an approach to understanding how nursing staff in all categorizations of five nursing capabilities – novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert – use their knowledge and skills as well as follow policies to prevent MEs and ADEs. Benner’s theory applied to the nursing profession adapted from Dreyfus model of skill acquisition or nursing clinical competencies. The information was gathered through databases of CINAHL, GreenFILE, and Medline. Out of 67 articles , 16 articles from the years 2019 to 2024 were selected for the analysis.
The review emphasizes that MEs occur due to a lack of nurses’ knowledge and skills, attitudes, and failure to adhering to standard organizational procedures. As healthcare providers nurses play a major role in sometimes, prescribing and mostly, administering medications in hospitals and elderly homes. A nurse’s key responsibility is to ensure accuracy in the prescribing, preparation, administration, and deprescribing stages to prevent MEs. This review also highlights the challenges nurses face in preventing MEs, such as tight schedules at work, current nursing practices that lead to MEs, barriers to preventing MEs documentation, and medication management through digital tools.