Evidence briefings on interventions to improve medication safety: double-checking medication administration

Policy question: Does double-checking by nurses reduce medication administration errors and improve efficiency?

Current evidence shows: There is some evidence that when independent double-checking occurs, errors are reduced. The effectiveness of double-checking lies in it being an independent cognitive task, not a superficial routine task. Many health care organisations have a policy of double-checking. However these often do not contain explicit definitions, and are inconsistently applied in practice, which dilute any potential safety benefits. Double-checking is resource-intensive
and a significant burden for nursing staff. Qualitative research suggests nurses
perceive some advantages in single-checking related to increased autonomy, better use of resources and reduced interruptions to work.