Risk Management and Healthcare Policy最新文献

{"title":"Quality Assessment of Plain Chest X-Rays of the Expatriates in Jordan: Multi-Centres Study.","authors":"Mohammad Ayasrah, Rasha Aeadah Al Hrout, Khaleel Rawahneh","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S507002","DOIUrl":"10.2147/RMHP.S507002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>High-quality diagnostic imaging is critical to patient safety and effective healthcare. This study assesses the quality of plain chest X-rays (CXR) for expatriates in Jordan, with a focus on complying to American College of Radiology (ACR) and European Commission (EC) criteria at 12 healthcare facilities.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective cross-sectional evaluation of 1020 CXR radiographs from 2023 was performed. A quantitative classification approach was used to assess CXR for ACR and EC compliance, which included exposure, anatomical visibility, organ superimposition, and image annotation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Only 15% of CXRs passed all of the quality standards. While exposure and anatomical visualization demonstrated adequate compliance, organ superimposition and image annotation were much lower, at 23% and 29%, respectively, revealing gaps that may impact diagnostic accuracy and patient safety.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Significant discrepancies in CXR quality highlight the need for enhanced training, rigorous adherence to imaging protocols, and robust quality control to improve diagnosis accuracy and patient outcomes, especially in expatriate screening programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"933-945"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11932934/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143712274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Multiplex Bead Serology Panel For Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Using Dried Blood Spots.","authors":"Paul D Olivo, Sudip Ghatak, Randolph Rasch","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S506025","DOIUrl":"10.2147/RMHP.S506025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Vaccines are effective tools to improve public health. The effectiveness of vaccines is, however, dependent on the overall level of protection in a population. Antibodies to vaccine-related antigens are good biomarkers of protection and serosurveillance can help target vaccination programs. An integrated approach to perform serosurveillance on multiple vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) has been advocated and would be facilitated by a standardized multiplex immunoassay. In this report, we describe the evaluation of the performance of a multi-lyte bead-based serology panel for 12 VPDs which uses a dried blood spot sample from a finger prick (<i>ImmunoProfile Antibody Test System</i>).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Verification/validation studies were performed at a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory (BioAgilytix Labs, Boston, MA) on blood collected from dried blood spot (DBS) card samples from adults and children. In addition, proof-of-principle pilot serosurveillance studies were performed to demonstrate the potential of this test to identify protection gaps in adult and pediatric populations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>This study demonstrates that the ImmunoProfile Antibody Test System has the requisite analytical performance to be a reliable tool for determining levels of protection to VPDs. The pilot serosurveillance studies demonstrate that this test reveals gaps in protection comparable to what has been shown using immunoassays for individual antibodies using serum samples.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Serological survey data obtained with the validated ImmunoProfile Antibody Test System could provide a wealth of information on levels of protection and could unearth vaccination gaps that may not have been anticipated.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"923-932"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11932034/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143702155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of Risk Factors for Poor Prognosis Following Small Artery Occlusion or Lacunar Stroke: A Retrospective Cohort Study.","authors":"Yan Shi, Yongtao Liu, Jingjing Sun, Bing Zhao, Qingfan Xie","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S482736","DOIUrl":"10.2147/RMHP.S482736","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To investigate the risk factors and predictive value for poor prognosis following small artery occlusion stroke (SAO) or lacunar stroke.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective cohort of 100 SAO patients who received their first intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) treatment with alteplase between March 2019 and March 2021 was collected. Based on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of <3 at 90 days post-admission, patients were divided into a good prognosis group (61 cases) and a poor prognosis group (39 cases) for comparative analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In our retrospective cohort study of 100 SAO patients treated with IVT from March 2019 to March 2021, we found no significant differences in gender, age or BMI between the 61 patients with good prognosis and the 39 with poor prognosis, although smoking habits varied. Statistically differences were observed between the two groups in terms of time from onset to hospital admission for thrombolysis (48.59±20.14 vs 40.03±23.73 min, <i>t</i>=2.202, <i>P</i>=0.030), triglycerides (1.56±0.92 vs 1.20±0.68 mmol/L, <i>t</i>=2.069, <i>P</i>=0.041), and smoking prevalence (42.62% vs 20.51%, <i>χ²</i> =5.183, <i>P</i>=0.023). Regression analysis indicated that shorter time from onset to hospital admission for thrombolysis (<i>OR</i>=0.978, 95% CI: 0.957-0.993) was a protective factor against poor prognosis post-thrombolysis in SAO patients, while a history of smoking (<i>OR</i>=2.881, 95% CI: 1.115-7.444) was a risk factor for poor prognosis post-thrombolysis. The area under the curve (AUC) for predicting poor prognosis post-thrombolysis in SAO patients based on time from onset to hospital admission was 0.662 (95% CI: 0.552-0.771), with a cutoff value of 36.5 min; the AUC for predicting poor prognosis based on smoking history was 0.614 (95% CI: 0.502-0.726).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>An extended duration from onset to hospital admission for thrombolysis and smoking are identified as significant risk factors for poor prognosis following thrombolysis in SAO patients, both of which have substantial predictive value.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"915-922"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11928325/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143694525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association of the Triglyceride-Glucose Index with Body Composition and Laboratory Parameters in Chronic Kidney Disease Stages 3-5.","authors":"Shan-Shan Xu, Yan-Meng Guan, Hong-Yun Xuan, Xiu-Fang Fan, Ping Lu, Li-Hai Hao","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S511635","DOIUrl":"10.2147/RMHP.S511635","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the association of the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG index) with body composition and laboratory parameters in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 3-5.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 89 individuals with CKD stages 3-5 were classified into two groups based on glomerular filtration rate (GFR): the CKD stages 3 to 4 group (n = 53) and the CKD stage 5 group (n = 36). Body composition parameters, including body fat mass, lean body mass, skeletal muscle mass, and body mass index, were measured. Laboratory indices, including hemoglobin, albumin, cholesterol, and the TyG index were analyzed. The correlations between the TyG index and these parameters were analyzed using Pearson correlation, and the factors of the TyG index were analyzed using linear regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>(1) Hemoglobin levels, lymphocyte counts, the TyG index, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were higher in patients with CKD stages 3 to 4 compared to those with CKD stage 5. (2) Measures of body composition, including body fat mass, lean body mass, skeletal muscle mass, and BMI were significantly higher in patients with CKD stages 3 to 4 compared to those with CKD stage 5. (3) The TyG index exhibited positive correlations with cholesterol, lymphocyte and monocyte counts, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and BMI, while showing a negative correlation with serum creatinine levels. (4) Multivariate linear regression suggested that creatinine, blood glucose, GFR, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio may be the influencing factors of TYG index.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>TYG index was positively correlated with BMI. The TyG index, an indicator of insulin resistance, is closely linked to chronic inflammation, impaired renal function, and alterations in blood glucose and lipid profiles. These findings underscore the potential utility of the TyG index in assessing metabolic and inflammatory changes in CKD.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"903-913"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11922777/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143671617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing Health Productivity in China: A Decade of Measurement and Regional Insights (2010-2020).","authors":"Dechen Kong, Nan Jiang, Xiaomin He, Jing Yuan, Qing Du, Wu Lian","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S500994","DOIUrl":"10.2147/RMHP.S500994","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Enhancing health productivity is a pressing priority to promote the Healthy China Initiative. This study aims to assess the efficiency of health production and to analyze the disparities in efficiency across regions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A multi-dimensional approach is used to assess the health efficiency of 31 provinces in China over the period 2010 to 2020. The analysis incorporates the conventional BCC model, the super-efficient SBM model, and the Malmquist index model within the framework of DEA modeling. And using the Dagum Gini coefficient to further analyze the differences in health productivity of China.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The BCC model calculated China's comprehensive health production efficiency in 2020 to be 0.732. The SBM model assessed the average health productivity value among China's provinces in 2020, revealing Guangdong as the highest (2.276) and Qinghai as the lowest (0.351). The average value of China's Malmquist Index from 2010 to 2020 was 1.002, indicating a slight overall improvement in health production efficiency. Furthermore, the score of technological change and technological efficiency change in five provinces were more than 1. Gini coefficient had obvious downward trend from 2010 to 2020, and there was a lower level in the northeastern (0.055) and eastern (0.0989) regions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Though the whole health productivity of China has been on the rise, health production efficiency in many provinces still needs to be improved. Inequities in health services provision persist, particularly between the eastern and western regions. The government should play a significant role in establishing standardized criteria for regular evaluation of health production efficiency levels. It's suggested to utilize digital health technologies to facilitate the exchange of information among different regions in China, thereby fostering collaborative efforts to improve overall health outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"869-889"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11913178/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Erratum: Analysis and Validation of a Diagnostic Nomogram for Predicting the Risk of Acute Respiratory Failure for Non-HIV Related Pneumocystis Jirovecii Pneumonia Patients [Corrigendum].","authors":"","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S516591","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S516591","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2147/RMHP.S476812.].</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"901-902"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11913980/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143659768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Healthcare Professionals' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Aseer, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Ahmed Khaled Bahamdan, Sirajudeen Shaik Alavudeen, Ghadah Khaled Bahamdan, Khaled Ahmed Bahamdan, Saud Mohammed Ali Asiri, Nawaf Amer Mohammed Alshahrani, Saud Abdulziz Alqahtani, Ahmed R N Ibrahim","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S507235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S507235","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are initiatives designed to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). ASPs enhance antimicrobial use, prevent errors, maintain guidelines, and monitor usage to reduce AMR.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aims to shed light on healthcare professionals' (HCPs) knowledge, experience, and attitudes regarding ASPs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This quantitative cross-sectional study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee at King Khalid University (ECM#2022-2023) was conducted in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia. A validated self-administered online survey was distributed through various social media channels using snowball sampling between September 2022 and June 2024. The data from the online survey was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The sample included 388 participants. Just over half (53.1%) were male, and the remainder (46.9%) were female. Although a slight majority (54.9%) reported familiarity with ASPs, a professional practice gap was found; only 143 (36.9%) of the participants had direct experience working with such programs, while 64.7% reported inadequate training opportunities as a barrier to effective ASP implementation followed by lack of resources, lack of internal policies and guidelines, time constraints and lack of manpower (54.1%, 52.1%, 48.2% and 45.9%, respectively). Despite the high level of awareness across both genders and all HCPs, only half of the participants correctly identified that cutting antibiotic costs is not the primary goal of ASPs. There were significant differences among participants' views toward repeated education and online resources (p = 0.042 and p = 0.024, respectively).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>While HCPs have a good understanding of AMR, a professional practice gap was found. Thus, the study recommends offering ongoing education and training programs for HCPs. Addressing implementation obstacles, such as resource limitations and unclear guidelines, is also essential.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"855-867"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11911028/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652117","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Application and Efficacy of Medication Safety Officer-Based Multidisciplinary Management in Reducing Adverse Drug Reaction and Improving Intravenous Management.","authors":"Xiaolu Zhang, Meixing Yan, Xianfeng Qu, Yang Li, Lu Liu, Chang Liu","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S504874","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S504874","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Intravenous (IV) therapy is a common treatment but is associated with high rates of medication errors and adverse events, especially in children. In China, most public hospitals have halted adult outpatient IV services, but pediatric IV management remains a challenge. This study evaluates the effectiveness of medication safety officer (MSO)-based multidisciplinary management on managing IV fluids in children's outpatient and emergency departments, aiming to reduce adverse drug reaction (ADR) and standardize IV infusion management.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Implementing MSO-based multidisciplinary management integrates multidisciplinary supervision, information system optimization, and fostering medication safety culture. We assessed its effectiveness by examining indicators such as the utilization of IV infusion, the unreasonable rate of IV infusion prescriptions, the incidence of IV infusion ADR and medication expenses among outpatient and emergency department patients.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Although peak pediatric influenza and mycoplasma infections led to increased rates of IV fluids after liberalizing control of COVID-19 epidemic, there was a notable decrease in the percentage of antimicrobials in IV infusion (<i>P</i> < 0.001). More importantly, the unreasonable rate of IV infusion prescriptions and the incidence of ADR to IV infusion have significantly decreased, dropping from 7.72% and 0.04% to 4.45% and 0.01%, respectively (P < 0.001). Furthermore, both average cost of drugs and per capita cost of using IV drugs significantly decreased (P < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The implementation of MSO-based multidisciplinary management can effectively improve the irrational use of IV fluids, reduce ADR and medical expenses in pediatric outpatient and emergency departments, to ensure children's medication safety.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"891-900"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11910933/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing Occupational Health and Safety Through Strategic Leadership: The Mediating Role of Total Quality Management in Hodeida Hospitals, Yemen.","authors":"Rassal Fadhel, Abduallafattah Alqurs","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S506296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S506296","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is a critical concern in healthcare settings, particularly in resource-constrained environments where safety challenges often compromise staff well-being and patient care. Effective leadership and quality management are increasingly recognized as essential for addressing these challenges.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study investigates the impact of Strategic Leadership (SL) on the Occupational Health and Safety System (OHS) in hospitals, with Total Quality Management (TQM) serving as a mediating factor. Utilizing a cross-sectional survey design.</p><p><strong>Methodology: </strong>Data were collected from 323 healthcare professionals across six hospitals in Hodeida, Yemen, covering both medical and administrative roles. Partial Least-Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data, examining both direct and indirect relationships among the study variables.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The findings reveal that SL positively influences OHS directly and indirectly through TQM. Specifically, leadership practices that emphasize strategic direction, ethical conduct, and organizational control contribute to fostering a safer work environment. TQM enhances this effect by strengthening operational efficiencies and standardizing safety protocols. These results underscore the critical role of integrated leadership and quality management in advancing OHS practices in resource-constrained healthcare settings.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The study offers practical implications for hospital administrators seeking to improve safety and performance through a combined focus on leadership and quality management. Future research should explore these dynamics in different sectors and geographical contexts to validate and extend these findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"823-842"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11910047/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introducing Unit Dose Dispensing in a University Hospital - Effects on Medication Safety and Dispensing Time.","authors":"Hanne Katriina Ahtiainen, Carita Lindén-Lahti, Susanna Heininen, Anna-Riia Holmström, Lotta Schepel","doi":"10.2147/RMHP.S497454","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S497454","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Unit dose (UD) medications reduce manual steps in the medication management and use process and enable electronic documentation by barcode scanning. This study aimed to explore the effects of introduced unit doses on medication safety and time spent on medication dispensing.</p><p><strong>Patients and methods: </strong>Direct before-and-after observations were conducted in an inpatient internal medicine ward at Helsinki University Hospital. The prevalence of medication and procedural errors and time nurses spent dispensing medications at patient-specific doses were observed 10 weekdays before and after introducing unit doses of selected medications. To complement the observations, a separate survey was used to investigate nurses' perceptions of medication dispensing. Quantitative analysis was performed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>During the observations, medications were dispensed for 208 patients (n=1359 medications) before and 221 patients (n = 1171) after introducing unit doses. After UD implementation, 45.3% (n=530/1171) of the medications were dispensed as UDs. Medication and procedural errors were reduced (from 3.2% to 1.7% and 37.4% to 13.9%, respectively; p<0.05). Barcode scanning-related problems decreased from 21.4% to 1.8% (p<0.05) after implementation. The unit doses did not change the median time used to dispense medications to the patient, although the time used to dispense a single medication increased. In the survey, nurses reported improvements in barcode scanning but also indicated problems with handling unit doses and were worried about increased plastic waste.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Piloted unit doses decreased medication and procedural errors. Barcode scanning improved, which supported electronic closed-loop medication management in the study hospital. Unit doses in a fully automated process should be further studied for their effects on the dispensing time. In addition, controlling the amount of plastic waste in the unit dose dispensing should be considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":56009,"journal":{"name":"Risk Management and Healthcare Policy","volume":"18 ","pages":"843-854"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11910034/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143652120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}