Toward development of a computer-based methodology for evaluating and reducing medication administration errors

The number of people aged 65 years and older in the United States is increasing. This age group consumes 30% of all prescription drugs. Many elderly people require assistance from caregivers in taking their medication. Medication administration errors can result if caregivers cannot remember to give the medications or do not understand how to give them. This study aims to determine a more effective method of presenting prescription instructions and to determine if the multiple resource hypothesis holds in the context of prescription instructions by evaluating the effect a voice prescription label (which gives audio instructions) has on comprehension and memory of a drug regimen under varying training level, task condition and instruction format. In performing a multivariate ANOVA on data collected among 48 formal and 48 informal caregivers, training level, task condition, sound condition and instruction format were found to significantly affect caregivers' memory and comprehension. There is evidence that audio instructions and the matrix format reduce errors. These results could lead to the development of a medication scheduling management SYSTEM that effectively provides prescription instructions, organizes medicines according to administration time and incorporates decision rules to determine what action should be taken if a dose is missed.