Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative Data
<b>Background</b>: Medication errors cause adverse events; however, studies have yet to examine medication errors related to nursing hours while considering ward characteristics in Japan. Purpose: This study investigated medication errors caused by nurses to quantitatively assess ward ac...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Mutsuko Moriwaki Michiko Tanaka Masayuki Kakehashi Masato Koizumi Hiromasa Horiguchi Kenshi Hayashida |
| author_facet | Mutsuko Moriwaki Michiko Tanaka Masayuki Kakehashi Masato Koizumi Hiromasa Horiguchi Kenshi Hayashida |
| author_sort | Mutsuko Moriwaki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background</b>: Medication errors cause adverse events; however, studies have yet to examine medication errors related to nursing hours while considering ward characteristics in Japan. Purpose: This study investigated medication errors caused by nurses to quantitatively assess ward activity as busyness in nursing duties. <b>Methods</b>: This study considered patients hospitalized in the general wards of 10 National Hospital Organization institutions between April 2019 and March 2020. The study data were obtained from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination system, incident report system, and reports on nurse staffing and work hours. Data for 27,629 ward days with 88,475 patients were analyzed. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine the impact of factors on medication errors. <b>Results</b>: The mean patient age was 71.43 years (SD = 15.08). The medication error rate in nursing wards was 13.71%. The mean nursing time per patient during day shift was 1.95 h (SD = 0.58) in the non-medication error group and 2.06 h (SD = 0.58) in the medication error group (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The nursing time per patient in the medication error group compared to that in the non-medication error group had an odds ratio of 1.31 (<i>p</i> < 0.01) during day shifts. <b>Conclusions/Implications for practice</b>: Contrary to evidence, the results showed that medication errors caused by nurses related to increased nurse time with patients during day shifts. Further investigation is needed on the relationship of busyness with nursing duties to ensure an adequate nurse–patient ratio, nursing time, and improved patient safety. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a205ce382658454fa770e6ccd302dab1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2039-439X 2039-4403 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Nursing Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-a205ce382658454fa770e6ccd302dab12025-01-24T13:44:28ZengMDPI AGNursing Reports2039-439X2039-44032025-01-011511210.3390/nursrep15010012Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative DataMutsuko Moriwaki0Michiko Tanaka1Masayuki Kakehashi2Masato Koizumi3Hiromasa Horiguchi4Kenshi Hayashida5Quality Management Center, Institute of Science Tokyo Hospital, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, JapanDepartment of Nursing, Daiichi University of Pharmacy, Fukuoka 815-8511, JapanGraduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, JapanDepartment of Clinical Data Management and Research, Clinical Research Center, National Hospital Organization Headquarters, Tokyo 152-8621, JapanDepartment of Clinical Data Management and Research, Clinical Research Center, National Hospital Organization Headquarters, Tokyo 152-8621, JapanDepartment of Medical Informatics and Management, University Hospital, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyusyu 807-8555, Japan<b>Background</b>: Medication errors cause adverse events; however, studies have yet to examine medication errors related to nursing hours while considering ward characteristics in Japan. Purpose: This study investigated medication errors caused by nurses to quantitatively assess ward activity as busyness in nursing duties. <b>Methods</b>: This study considered patients hospitalized in the general wards of 10 National Hospital Organization institutions between April 2019 and March 2020. The study data were obtained from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination system, incident report system, and reports on nurse staffing and work hours. Data for 27,629 ward days with 88,475 patients were analyzed. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine the impact of factors on medication errors. <b>Results</b>: The mean patient age was 71.43 years (SD = 15.08). The medication error rate in nursing wards was 13.71%. The mean nursing time per patient during day shift was 1.95 h (SD = 0.58) in the non-medication error group and 2.06 h (SD = 0.58) in the medication error group (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The nursing time per patient in the medication error group compared to that in the non-medication error group had an odds ratio of 1.31 (<i>p</i> < 0.01) during day shifts. <b>Conclusions/Implications for practice</b>: Contrary to evidence, the results showed that medication errors caused by nurses related to increased nurse time with patients during day shifts. Further investigation is needed on the relationship of busyness with nursing duties to ensure an adequate nurse–patient ratio, nursing time, and improved patient safety.https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/15/1/12nursing timemedication errorsstaffingpatient safetyward activity |
| spellingShingle | Mutsuko Moriwaki Michiko Tanaka Masayuki Kakehashi Masato Koizumi Hiromasa Horiguchi Kenshi Hayashida Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative Data Nursing Reports nursing time medication errors staffing patient safety ward activity |
| title | Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative Data |
| title_full | Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative Data |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative Data |
| title_short | Influence of Nursing Time and Staffing on Medication Errors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Administrative Data |
| title_sort | influence of nursing time and staffing on medication errors a cross sectional analysis of administrative data |
| topic | nursing time medication errors staffing patient safety ward activity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/15/1/12 |
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