Capstone Project: Intravenous Medication Errors in Hospitals

This capstone project investigates the critical issue of intravenous medication dosage errors in heart failure patients within acute care hospital settings. The paper identifies that the frequent use of intravenous medications, while often necessary, can lead to significant errors, including incorrect dosage intervals, improper drug preparation, and misuse of complex equipment. These errors can result in serious complications, including heart failure and even death. The causes of these errors encompass a lack of knowledge in drug preparation, improper administration techniques, and the incompatibility of drug mixtures. The project references studies that highlight the higher risk of errors associated with intravenous medications compared to other methods, emphasizing the need for improved procedures and enhanced nurse training to mitigate these risks. The project draws from two key references to support the findings and conclusions, underscoring the importance of comprehensive knowledge and adherence to best practices in medication administration to ensure patient safety and improve healthcare outcomes.

Running head: HEALTHCARE INFORMATION CAPSTONE PROJECT
Healthcare Informatics Capstone Project
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1HEALTHCARE INFORMATION CAPSTONE PROJECT
TOPIC - Intravenous medication dosage errors in heart failure patients in the acute care hospital.
PURPOSE OF THE PAPER – This paper has been done to summarize the errors caused by the
intravenous medications in hear patients. Now-a-days the intravenous medications are used very
frequently but continuous use may cause harm. There are so many errors that are found due to the
intravenous usage of drug. One of the most common types is injecting heavy doses of medicine in
smaller intervals than recommended. These errors may lead to the heart failure and death. The
causes of errors also include the lack of knowledge for the preparation of drug. This involved
uncommon process of preparation when they are to be prepared in a small amount. These errors are
also caused due to the lack of idea of the administration and the way to use the complex equipments
used in the hospitals. Some other types of errors are also caused in the intravenous medication are
wrong usage of mixture of the drug and the diluents; using of wrong volume of the drug for
preparing a medication; incompatibility of infusion of the drug intravenously through the same
equipment of the same bag and using the wrong route for the intravenous injection of the drug.

2HEALTHCARE INFORMATION CAPSTONE PROJECT
Bibliography
Reference Reference note
Westbrook, J. I., Rob, M. I., Woods, A.,
& Parry, D. (2012). Errors in the
administration of intravenous
medications in hospital and the role of
correct procedures and nurse
experience. BMJ Quality &
Safety, 20(12), 1027–1034.
http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2011-
000089
Observational study was done of 107 nurses for the
preparation and the administration of 568 intravenous
medicines in the six different wards of hospitals.
Concluded that intravenous medication have a higher
risk of error than any other ways of medications.
Bagheri-Nesami, M., Esmaeili, R., &
Tajari, M. (2015). INTRAVENOUS
MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION
ERRORS AND THEIR CAUSES IN
CARDIAC CRITICAL CARE UNITS
IN IRAN. Materia Socio-Medica, 27(6),
442–446.
http://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2015.27.442-
446
A study was conducted in the critical care and cardiac
surgery units in 12 hospitals and 190 nurses participated in
the study. It can be concluded that for limiting the errors of
medication from occurring again.

3HEALTHCARE INFORMATION CAPSTONE PROJECT
References
Westbrook, J. I., Rob, M. I., Woods, A., & Parry, D. (2012). Errors in the administration of
intravenous medications in hospital and the role of correct procedures and nurse
experience. BMJ Quality & Safety, 20(12), 1027–1034. http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjqs-2011-
000089
Bagheri-Nesami, M., Esmaeili, R., & Tajari, M. (2015). INTRAVENOUS MEDICATION
ADMINISTRATION ERRORS AND THEIR CAUSES IN CARDIAC CRITICAL CARE
UNITS IN IRAN. Materia Socio-Medica, 27(6), 442–446.
http://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2015.27.442-446