Abstract
Policy question: Are “do not interrupt” interventions effective at reducing interruptions and medication administration errors?
Current evidence shows: Interruptions to nurses have been implicated as a source of error during the preparation and administration of medications. Interventions designed to reduce interruptions among nurses have produced only weak evidence of their effectiveness to reduce interruption rates, and very limited evidence of their ability to reduce medication administration errors. However, this absence of evidence is primarily due to the lack of robust study designs applied to evaluate these interventions. Hospitals should be cautious about adopting these interventions until controlled trials of their effectiveness have been undertaken.
Current evidence shows: Interruptions to nurses have been implicated as a source of error during the preparation and administration of medications. Interventions designed to reduce interruptions among nurses have produced only weak evidence of their effectiveness to reduce interruption rates, and very limited evidence of their ability to reduce medication administration errors. However, this absence of evidence is primarily due to the lack of robust study designs applied to evaluate these interventions. Hospitals should be cautious about adopting these interventions until controlled trials of their effectiveness have been undertaken.
Original language | English |
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Place of Publication | Sydney |
Publisher | University of New South Wales |
Number of pages | 4 |
Volume | 1(4) |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |