After a study showed that user-friendly directions for nurses reduced intravenous drug administration errors, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service will begin user testing of all injection guidelines.
Errors during the administration of intravenous drugs are common. In fact, studies indicate errors occur in about one-third to about half of all intravenous drug administrations. Ambiguous or hard-to-follow guidelines may contribute to nurses making such mistakes, lead author Matthew Jones, PhD, a lecturer in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of Bath, noted in a statement.