Preventing Risks of Infections and Medication Errors in IV therapy (PRIME): a patient safety initiative

• Published in: British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing) Vol. 32; no. 14; p. S4
• Main Authors: Giri, Jayant, Poojary, Aruna, Coto, Berling S, Agarwal, Anuradha, Datta, Babli, Ganguly, Sumana, Hindlekar, Prajakta, Patil, Priyanka, Vitto, Jasmine Virginia A, Choi, Aeri, Kim, Sookhyun, Basaiawmoit, Banrishisha, Biswas, Doli, Prabhakar, Shweta, Sharma, Anita, Deshwal, Neelam, Shin, Jeong Ae, Jung, JinYoung, Eshwara, Vandana Kalwaje, Varma, Muralidhar, Mukhopadhyay, Chiranjay, Mundkur, Suneel C, Shetty, Avinash, Kurup, Shreeshubha, Rajalakshmi, Arjun, Kumar, Rajiv, Shah, Sweta, Fouzdar, Havovi, Park, OkSim, Kim, HeeJung, Budhiraja, Sandeep, Verma, Arati, Dutt, Arti, Mehta, Yatin, Patil, Nipun, Pollatu, Joan Christina, Rikumahu, Marisco, Inchaiya, Phatharaporn, Weangsima, Dararut, McCaughan, Julie, Chandra, Riny, Setyohariyati, Florentina Dhianna Sri, Sihite, Christin Rouli Juni, Bawaningtyas, Benedikta Betty, Octaviani, Susi Nur, Hoai, Vu Thi Thu, Sang, Doan Minh, Van Thang, Bui, Van Anh, Dinh Thi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 27.07.2023
• Subjects: Medication preparation; Training and development; Vascular access devices; Nursing care; Intravenous complications; Care quality improvement
• ISSN: 0966-0461
• DOI: 10.12968/bjon.2023.32.14.S4

Two major avoidable reasons for adverse events in hospital are medication errors and intravenous therapy-induced infections or complications. Training for clinical staff and compliance to patient safety principles could address these. Joint Commission International (JCI) consultants created a standardised, 6-month training programme for clinical staff in hospitals. Twenty-one tertiary care hospitals from across south-east Asia took part. JCI trained the clinical consultants, who trained hospital safety champions, who trained nursing staff. Compliance and knowledge were assessed, and monthly audits were conducted. There was an overall increase of 29% in compliance with parameters around medication preparation and vascular access device management. The programme improved safe practice around preparing medications management and managing vascular access devices. The approach could be employed as a continuous quality improvement initiative for the prevention of medication errors and infusion-associated complications.