["Ready to use" medications. A guide to limit errors when using medications].

Abstract

Errors in the use of medicines are preventable incidents which may occur at any point in a chain beginning with prescription and continuing on through dispensation and administration of medicine; these errors have multi-factorial causes. Those which are potentially the most dangerous take place in hospital environment and some of them directly affect nursing personnel since they occur during the process when medicines are prepared and administered via an intravenous drip or injection. Pre-diluted medicines for intravenous use, known as "ready to use" preparations, help to reduce the amount of errors associated with the preparation and administration of medicines. These preparations guarantee the correct prescribed dose and eliminate errors related to an incorrectly labeled medicine. Moreover these ready to use medicines avoid a manipulation of the pharmaceutical product, limit the risk of particles being dragged, reduce nursing time employed in preparation of medicines substantially, and prevent accidental needle scratches during the preparation process.