Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Adult Health Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Centre, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
2 Department of Anaesthesiology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Department of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Science, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The safety of hospitalized patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) is threatened
due to incidents and adverse events, including medication errors. Medication error refers to any
preventable event at different stage of medication process, such as prescription, transcription,
distributing medication, and administration, which can lead to incorrect use of medicines or damage
to the patient. This study aimed at investigating the effect of the interprofessional education of
medication safety program on medication errors of physicians and nurses in the ICUs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted using a quasi‑experimental method (single
group, before and after) in 2017. The setting of the study included one ICU of selected teaching hospital
affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences located in the Central Iran with a total of 23 beds.
Participants included 50 members of the health‑care team (physician, nurse, and clinical pharmacist)
with at least 1 year of work experience in the ICUs. Participants were selected using censuses
sampling method. Data were collected using a two‑section self‑made questionnaire. Data were
analyzed through descriptive, analytical statistics, and version 16 of the SPSS software (P < 0.05).
RESULTS: According to reporting of physicians, nurses, and clinical pharmacist, the medication
error 1 month after implementation, the interprofessional education of medication safety program
was significantly lower than before the implementation of it (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Interprofessional education helps to improve interprofessional collaboration and
patient care through the promotion of various professions of health to increase interprofessional
collaboration compared to single profession education, which individuals learn in isolation and merely
in their profession. Therefore, interprofessional education of medication safety program can reduce
medication error and promote patient safety in the ICUs.
Keywords
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