WEDNESDAY, May 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) – More than 40 percent of fully trained nurses from the Home Care Service report medication deficiencies within 12 months, according to a May 4 online survey. Pharmacology research and perspectives.
Sandra Strab-Lahman, PhD, and colleagues from the University Medicine Berlin, a charity, have examined how often drug errors occur and whether they are related to training, quality assurance systems (use of double-check policy). [DCP]And other structural conditions of home care services in a cross-sectional study involving 485 fully trained nurses from 107 home care services.
The researchers found that 41.6 percent of nurses reported medication errors within 12 months and 14.8 percent did not answer this question. The odds ratio for non-drug-related errors was 1.79 for nurses who had participated in drug training over the past two years as opposed to long-term (often vs. rarely applied DCP). After years of professional experience, no significant provision was found for the type of work contract (full vs. part-time) with the amount of patients per shift, or the reported drug error.
“Regular training and adequate quality management measures increase patient safety,” the author writes. “Nursing managers and other responsible persons in home care organizations need to ensure that nursing staff participate in regular drug training and apply DCP when they administer medication to home care.”
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