The Effectiveness of Electronic Medication Administration Record: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Medication errors are currently a global issue in maintaining patients' safety. This varies among countries and the innovation in solving this issue by nurses is highly needed. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review is to identify and evaluate the published studies related to the effects of electronic medication administration record system. Methods: The systematic reviews were carried out using six databases, published between January 1, 2014, and October 31, 2018. The search for articles focused on the effects of electronic medication administration records. Results: Based on the search for research reports conducted in six databases, 772 articles related to the effect of applying electronic medication records were obtained. From this, 23 studies that matched the inclusion criteria were collected and analyzed. Furthermore, 9 studies showed that the effect of applying electronic medication records reduce the incidence of medication administration errors. While others showed increase in the average treatment accuracy, mortality reduction, documentation process elevation, nurses' mental load decrement high job satisfaction, and lesser nursing time. Conclusion: Electronic medication administration record was effective in reducing error incidence. Therefore, this innovation is highly recommended to be implemented both in hospital settings and community-based health services.