What Factors Influence Adverse Drug Events and Medication Errors in Nursing Homes?

​​The Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model proved useful for identifying work system factors that affect medication safety in nursing homes, according to a recent comprehensive literature review published in the June 2017 issue of JAMDA: The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. According to the SEIPS model, five key components—persons, organization, technologies and tools, tasks, and environment—explain the effects of a work system and process on health outcomes. The authors attempted to identify factors of each component that influence adverse drug events and reactions (ADEs) and medication errors. They found an ADE incidence rate ranging from 1.89 to 10.8 per 100 resident-months. The most commonly reported events were bleeding, thromboembolic events, hypoglycemia, falls, and constipation; the most common ADE-related medications were psychotropic agents, anticoagulants, antidiabetic agents, opioids, and antihypertensive agents.