Understanding medication safety involving patient transfer from intensive care to hospital ward: a qualitative sociotechnical factor study.

Objective: To understand the sociotechnical factors affecting medication safety when intensive care patients are transferred to a hospital ward. Consideration of these medication safety factors would provide a theoretical basis, on which future interventions can be developed and evaluated to improve patient care.

Design: Qualitative study using semistructured interviews of intensive care and hospital ward-based healthcare professionals.

Improved compliance with a gentamicin prescribing policy after introduction of a monitoring form.

Objectives: Compliance with our local hospital policy for gentamicin administration and monitoring was found to be inadequate on audit. A gentamicin monitoring form was introduced with the aim of improving staff compliance with the policy thus minimizing the risks of toxicity while ensuring adequate dosing.

Patients And Methods: The initial audit examined the prescribing, administration and monitoring of intravenous gentamicin given to 20 patients.