• Wei Wang, Lin Jin, Xu Zhao, Zhenxiang Li, and Weizhong Han.
• Department of Cardiology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, No. 324 Jingwu Rd, Ji'nan, Shandong, China 250021. Email: hanweizhong003@163.com.
• Am J Manag Care. 2021 Jun 1; 27 (6): e188-e194.

ObjectivesTo investigate the status of nursing interruption events during medicine administration and to analyze the factors influencing interruptions.Study DesignThe nursing drug delivery process was divided into 3 segments: the processing of doctors' orders, drug allocation, and bedside drug administration. The frequency, source, type, and outcome of interruption events during these 3 segments were observed. The interruption time and medication errors caused by interruptions were analyzed.MethodsThe structural observation method was used to observe the 3 steps of the drug delivery process. The observations were performed between 8:30 and 10:30 and between 13:30 and 14:30. Count data are described as frequency, composition ratio, and cumulative percentage. R×C contingency table, t tests, and analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.ResultsIn 270 hours of observation, 3424 nursing interruptions occurred, for a mean of 12.68 interruptions per hour. The mean (SD) interruption time was 28.03 (11.01) seconds, and the total duration of drug administration interruptions was 26.65 hours, accounting for 9.87% of the total observation time. The sources of interruption events were as follows: family members, the environment, doctors, patients, colleagues, the nurses themselves, and others; of these interruptions, 2340 were low-priority events (eg, visitor inquiry, telephone call, consultation, discharge questions), accounting for 68.34%. The incidence of medication errors due to interruptions was 1.139%.ConclusionsNursing interruption events occur frequently, come from many sources, have complex causes, and commonly lead to negative outcomes. Interruption also has a time cost and can directly lead to medication errors.

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