Comparison of nurses' perceptions of medication errors using conventional and automated drug dispensing system

This research was conducted as a descriptive study in order to compare the perceptions of nurses using conventional and automated drug dispensing system towards medication errors. The research was carried out between 14 September – 26 November 2021 in two university hospitals in Ankara, where conventional and automated drug dispensing systems are used. Sample selection was not made in the study, and it was tried to reach the entire population. The study was completed with a total of 238 volunteer nurses who agreed to participate in the study and administered drugs. In the collection of data; Data Collection Form on Nurses' Descriptive Characteristics and Medication Administration Error Survey (MAES) were used. In the analysis of the data, Independent Sample t test, Kruskal Wallis-H test, Shapiro-Wilk test, KolmogorovSmirnov test and Post-Hoc test were used. In the study, the score (X̅=94.03±16.42) of nurses using the conventional drug dispensing system in the section where their perceptions of situations that may cause medication errors were measured, were found to be significantly higher than the scores (X̅=89.35±20.47) of the nurses using the automated drug dispensing system (p<0.05). In the study, no significant difference was found between the scores of the nurses working in both hospitals in the sections in which their perceptions of the reasons for not reporting the errors occurred and their perceptions of the actual reporting rates of the types of medication errors were examined (p>0.05). In the study, it was determined that nurses who use the conventional drug dispensing system and have an associate degree, working for 2-9 years, administer non-intravenous medication "frequently", working day and night and working more than 40 hours a week, were determined by the results of the MAES. The scores they got from the section where their perceptions of the situations that may cause medication errors were measured, were found to be significantly higher (p<0.05). Keywords: Medication errors, medication systems, nursing, patient safety