Browsing by Author "Laakkonen, Laura"

Barcode-assisted medication administration can be used to prevent medication errors in pediatric hospital settings, as the medicine and the patient can be safely identified during the drug preparation and administration. The use of barcode-assisted medication administration has been examined in a few qualitative studies. In addition to the benefits, many challenges related to the implementation of this new workflow have been identified. The aim of this study was to identify facilitators and barriers related to the use of barcode-assisted medication administration in a children's hospital. The topic has not been studied in Finland before. A qualitative focus group study was carried out at HUS Helsinki University Hospital in the Department of Children and Adolescents. Ward pharmacists (n=14) were selected for the focus groups (n=3) by purposive sampling to identify persons using barcode-assisted medication administration on their daily work. Two researchers conducted the inductive content analysis independently, after which a consensus was formed first with these researchers and later with the entire research group. COREQ checklist was used to support detailed reporting and to consider the factors that might affect to the reliability of the study in each phase of the study. Four main themes were identified from the data; the barriers, the risk behavior caused by the barriers, the facilitators and the development ideas. The barriers included challenges related to negative attitudes of the end-users, barcodes on drug packages and labels, use of the electronic health record system, workstations and equipment, as well as orientation, competence and management. The barriers caused risk behavior that was related either to the system or to the end-user. On the other hand, the facilitators were associated with the positive experience of the end-user, the increase in expertise and multi-professional cooperation, the functions of the electronic health record system that supported the preparation and administration of the medicines, as well as the benefits of the barcode-assisted medication administration workflow. The development ideas aimed to remove the barriers and the risk behavior related to the use of barcode-assisted medication administration. The users found that the use of barcode-assisted medication administration increased patient and medication safety, although there were still many challenges associated with the new workflow. Barcode-assisted medication administration can be used to reduce medication errors and protect patients from adverse events. The results of this study can be used to develop the usability of barcode technology and their implementation.