Medication safety bulletins
Informed by extensive research, the Health Innovation Series provides accessible, evidence-based recommendations to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes.
The Australian Institute of Health Innovation (AIHI) conducts world-class research to catalyse health service and systems improvements in Australia and internationally. Our research generates highly practical, evidence-based recommendations and information that health services can implement or use now.
About the Health Innovation Series
The Health Innovation Series communicates research evidence in a short, easy-to-read format with clear recommendations. Covering a wide range of topics, the series is designed to support the improvement of health systems and services.
The series supports:
- clinicians
- developers
- health service managers and leaders
- hospitals
- IT teams
- medication safety teams
- policymakers.
The series can be shared across organisations to apply, implement, evaluate and refine recommendations as needed.
The recommendations are based on issues identified during various programs of research undertaken by AIHI and research evidence derived from empirical studies, such as:
- studies assessing medication and technology-related errors
- direct observational studies of clinical work
- usability assessments
- trials of digital interventions
- studies conducted in a variety of care settings including paediatric and adult hospitals, and residential aged care.
The recommendations are not intended to be an exhaustive list and should be considered by individual care settings for appropriateness prior to implementation. A more detailed review of the issue and impact may also be warranted. The content of each issue is intended for information purposes only.
Topic: e-medication safety
Digital health systems are the cornerstone of high-quality care. Expectations are growing among consumers and the health system for highly-integrated systems that support:
- timely access to information
- safe medication management
- efficient work processes.
The e-medication safety series provides targeted recommendations, making clear how to improve user satisfaction and patient outcomes through enhanced system usability, increased adherence to clinical guidelines and fewer medication errors.
Download each issue:
- Issue 29: When two’s a crowd: multiple users accessing the same medication chart
- Issue 28: Double or nothing: preventing duplicate orders with order sets
- Issue 27: Safe medication administration: Is your electronic system providing the right information at the right time?
- Issue 26: How big a problem are drug-drug interactions and are they harming patients?
- Issue 25: Patching the system: transdermal patch removal reminders
- Issue 24: Are you on autopilot? Fatal errors involving automated dispensing cabinets
- Issue 23: The devil is in the detail – safe paracetamol dosing for under- and overweight children and adults
- Issue 22: So many options in the Dose Calculator, which dose is right?
- Issue 21: The curious case of the 100-fold overdose
- Issue 20: The dangers of copying a previous order. Don’t be a copycat
- Issue 19: Does your drop-down menu present safe options?
- Issue 18: What time is the next dose due? Avoid errors by updating the schedule!
- Issue 17: Is your administration documentation accurate? Check fields that auto-populate!
- Issue 16: A mix of prescribing systems may be a recipe for disaster
- Issue 15: Default first dose times can cause deadly double doses
- Issue 14: How free-text fields can lead to medication errors
- Issue 13: First in line: Optimising order sentence display reduces selection errors
- Issue 12: Making order sentences work for you: search tips for prescribers
- Issue 11: Keeping staff safe when handling hazardous medication: it’s not only cytotoxics that are risky
- Issue 10: Stop! Is that weight out-of-date? Preventing dose errors in children
- Issue 9: Is the rounding rule in your dose calculator causing dose errors in children?
- Issue 8: Can’t find a medication in the electronic medication system? How to prevent errors and user frustration
- Issue 7: Dose calculator missing in action
- Issue 6: Accidental prescribing of extended-release opioids
- Issue 5: Pre-operative medication frequencies matter
- Issue 4: Preventing dangerous intraspinal injections
- Issue 3: Double dose trouble: Systemic intranasal medication. Can you spot the problem?
- Issue 2: Caution: Editing within a dose calculator can result in large dose errors.
- Issue 1: Prescribing an IV in an electronic medication system. What could possibly go wrong?
- Professor Johanna Westbrook – Director
- Associate Professor Magda Raban – Associate Professor
- Alison Merchant – Research Officer
- Erin Fitzpatrick – Research Officer
- Chrissy Clay – Media and Research Outreach Consultant
- Kelly Smith – Administrative Assistant