A survey about label enhancement methods for parenteral medication in European hospital pharmacies
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PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND PRESCRIPTION
A survey about label enhancement methods for parenteral medication in European hospital pharmacies K. H. M. Larmené-Beld 1,2
&
R. N. Keers 3,4 & K. Taxis 2
Received: 5 September 2019 / Accepted: 25 May 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Unclear labeling has been recognized as an important cause of look-alike medication errors. Little is known about which labeling practices are currently used in European hospitals. The aim of this article is to obtain an overview of the labeling practices for parenteral medications, in relation to national guidelines, in the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. Methods An online survey was conducted using the Qualtrics® software. The survey was distributed to hospital pharmacists in the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK. The results were downloaded from Qualtrics and exported to Microsoft Excel. Data were categorized into groups and analyzed descriptively. Results In total, 104 responses were received. The response rate was 63% (n = 48) in the Netherlands and 11% (n = 41) for Germany; for the UK, 15 responses were received. In general almost 90% of the respondents followed the National guidelines concerning labeling of pharmacy-prepared parenteral products. The use of label enhancement techniques was relatively low in all countries. On average, the use of “Tall Man” lettering was 19%, the use of color coding was 29%, and the use of a barcode on the label was 27%. Conclusion Label-enhancement methods for parenteral medication in hospital pharmacies do not seem to be widely implemented and acknowledged in European hospitals, but response rates were limited for two countries. Greater standardization in conjunction with research for evidence-based enhancement techniques is needed to guide improvement in labeling practices across Europe. Keywords Look-alike . Label enhancement . Parenteral medication . Hospital
Introduction Hospital pharmacists have an important role in promoting and ensuring the safe use of medicines [1]. Good labeling of medication is recognized as an important aspect of medication safety in hospitals, but 20% or more of medication errors may be related to confusing packaging and poor labeling [2, 3]. The basic
* K. H. M. Larmené-Beld [email protected] 1
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Isala Hospital, Dokter van Heesweg 2, 8025, AB Zwolle, The Netherlands
2
Unit of Pharmacotherapy, Epidemiology & Pharmacoeconomics (PTE2), Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
3
Centre for Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, Division of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
4
Pharmacy Department, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
function of a medication label is to enable correct identification and safe administration of the product. So-called look-alike labels, because of similar drug names (e.g., dobutamine–dopamine) or otherwise similar appearance of the labels, could result
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