The Impact of Standardization of Intravenous Medication on Patient Safety and Quality of Healthcare: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Intravenous (IV) drugs are essential in today's healthcare systems for providing patients with accurate and timely therapy in a variety of clinical situations. However, administering IV drugs is intrinsically difficult and fraught with error-proneness, which may seriously compromise patient safety and the standard of medical treatment. One important tactic to reduce these hazards and improve overall patient care is the adoption of standardized procedures for IV drug delivery. This systematic literature review aims to thoroughly investigate and summarize the body of knowledge about the effects of IV drug standardization on patient safety and the caliber of healthcare delivery. Methods We used a systematic review approach to examine the impact of standardized intravenous medicine on patient safety and healthcare quality. Guided by the PRISMA framework, we searched articles specifically discussing the standardization of intravenous medication and its implications on patient safety and healthcare quality and related peer-reviewed articles in two major academic databases, PubMed and Google Scholar, based on predetermined eligibility criteria. JBI tool was employed to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Results A total of 112 studies were selected from the two major databases, PubMed and Google Scholar, 61 and 51 studies, respectively. After applying the eligibility criteria, 8 studies were finalized for the systematic review. The outcomes showed a variety of clinical settings demonstrate the importance of standardization, and they argue for the maintenance of a focus on the use of standardized procedures in healthcare settings. Conclusion The study findings provide compelling evidence in favor of the implementation and ongoing focus on standardized medication concentrations as a critical tactic to enhance patient safety and improve the standard of healthcare. Thus, the creation and use of standardized procedures should be given top priority by healthcare institutions as they advance because they will remain essential to the pursuit of healthcare excellence.