Avoiding Medication Administration Errors

Errors involving medication administration can be costly, both financially and in human terms. The establishment of a hospital patient safety program that includes medication labeling protocols can help to reduce such errors, which can range from a patient receiving an incorrect dosage of a medication to receiving incorrect medication.

Errors in medication administration are not a minor problem. According to the FDA, "medication errors cause at least one death every day and injure approximately 1.3 million people annually in the United States."¹ To help address this issue, The Joint Commission released medication labeling recommendations in 2006. For more information, review The Joint Commission's 2006 Critical Access Hospital and Hospital National Patient Safety Goals, which includes suggestions for how to avoid medication administration errors. This document also features other important goals and requirements for hospital personnel.

2007 Study of Injectable Medication Errors

According to the 2007 Study of Injectable Medication Errors, an independent nationwide survey of 1,039 nurses conducted by the American Nurses Association and Inviro Medical, the overwhelming majority of nurses (97 percent) say they "worry" about medication errors.

Grave concern about medication errors		Syringe labeling practices

When asked to identify the most common factors that contribute to injectable medication errors, 78 percent of nurses surveyed cite their rushed workload and busy environment:		According to the survey, nurses see significant challenges with current methods of labeling syringes, including problems with labels covering the gradations on the syringe barrel.

While 62 percent of nurses in the 2007 study are aware of The Joint Commission's 2007 National Patient Safety Goals addressing the labeling of all medications and medication containers, only half (51 percent) of respondents are aware that The Joint Commission has determined that the pre-labeling of syringes does not meet labeling goals, since the label should be prepared only at the time the medication or solution is prepared.

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