Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Zimmerman, Sheryl
• Love, Karen
• Sloane, Philip D.
• Cohen, Lauren W.
• Reed, David
• Carder, Paula C.

Titel

Medication Administration Errors in Assisted Living: Scope, Characteristics, and the Importance of Staff Training

Ist Teil von

• Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS), 2011-06, Vol.59 (6), p.1060-1068

Ort / Verlag

Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2011

Quelle

Wiley Online Library - AutoHoldings Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• OBJECTIVES: To compare rates of medication errors committed by assisted living staff with different training and to examine characteristics of errors. DESIGN: Observation of medication preparation and passes, chart review, interviews, and questionnaires. SETTING: Stratified random sample of 11 assisted living communities in South Carolina (which permits nonnurses to administer medications) and Tennessee (which does not). PARTICIPANTS: All staff who prepared or passed medications: nurses (one registered nurse and six licensed practical nurses (LPNs)); medication aides (n=10); and others (n=19), including those with more and less training. MEASUREMENTS: Rates of errors related to medication, dose and form, preparation, route, and timing. RESULTS: Medication preparation and administration were observed for 4,957 administrations during 83 passes for 301 residents. The error rate was 42% (20% when omitting timing errors). Of all administrations, 7% were errors with moderate or high potential for harm. The odds of such an error by a medication aide were no more likely than by a LPN, but the odds of one by staff with less training was more than two times as great (odds ratio=2.10, 95% confidence interval=1.27–3.49). A review of state regulations found that 20 states restrict nonnurses to assisting with self‐administration of medications. CONCLUSION: Medication aides do not commit more errors than LPNs, but other nonnurses who administered a significant number of medications and assisted with self‐administration committed more errors. Consequently, all staff who handle medications should be trained to the level of a medication aide.