conduct a literature search on research conducted in the last 5 years on the patient safety problem, patient safety problem is medication errors in administering intravenous fluids. Medication errors in administering intravenous fluids can occur when staff members administer the wrong type or amount of fluid or when they administer it at the wrong rate or through the wrong route. Causes of medication errors in the administration of intravenous fluids include poor communication among staff members, lack of knowledge or training, and fatigue.
Post the following:
For the literature search, describe the following in your post:
The databases, search engines, and search terms you used in your literature search.
The number of research articles you found on your patient safety problem that were published in the last five years.
The challenges you encountered locating research articles and how you overcame them.
Who you would go to for help in your work setting if you needed help with a literature search.
Medication administration errors occur often and are more likely to result in severe harm and death than other medication errors. Errors in administering intravenous fluids pose particular risks because of their greater complexity and the multiple steps required in their preparation, administration, and monitoring (Westbrook et al., 2011).
Part 1: Patient Safety Problem
The patient safety problem I identified is medication errors in administering intravenous fluids. Medication errors in administering intravenous fluids can occur when staff members administer the wrong type or amount of fluid or when they administer it at the wrong rate or through the wrong route. Causes of medication errors in the administration of intravenous fluids include poor communication among staff members, lack of knowledge or training, and fatigue.
Medication errors’ impact in administering intravenous fluids on patient outcomes can be severe and may include fluid overload, electrolyte imbalances, and other complications.
A specific change in practice that could help improve patient outcomes is implementing a barcode scanning system for medication administration. This system would involve attaching a barcode to the medication and having staff members scan the barcode with a handheld device before administering the medication. This would ensure that the correct medication is being administered to the correct patient at the correct time, thus reducing the risk of medication errors.
Explanation:
Part 2: Research on Patient Safety Problem
Research question: “What is the impact of a barcode scanning system for medication administration on the rate of medication errors in administering intravenous fluids?”
Type of research: A Quasi-experimental design would be used to answer this question. This design divides participants into an experimental group and a control group, with the experimental group receiving the barcode scanning system for medication administration and the control group continuing with the current system.
This approach is the best because it allows for a direct comparison between the two groups and demonstrates a cause-and-effect relationship between implementing the barcode scanning system and the rate of medication errors.
I would not use a Randomized Control Trial, a case-control study, or a case series because
Randomized Control trials would require a large sample size, and it could be challenging to find a large population of patients eligible to be in a control group. Keeping some patients without the barcode scanning system could also be ethically challenging.
A case-control study would help find risk factors for medication errors, but it is not ideal for testing an intervention; it would also require finding an appropriate control group,
A case series would help describe a series of patients with a similar diagnosis, but it could be better for testing intervention and is not a comparative study.
References:
Taxis K, Barber N. Ethnographic study of incidence and severity of intravenous drug errors. BMJ 2003;326:684
Westbrook, J. I., Rob, M. I., Woods, A., & Parry, D. (2011, December). Errors in the administration of intravenous medications in hospital and the role of correct procedures and nurse experience. BMJ quality & safety. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from
