Abstract
Introduction: Medication administration errors (MAEs) remain a persistent threat to patient safety, particularly in outpatient infusion settings where biologic therapies are complex and administered via multiple routes. Inconsistent medication administration practices and limited structured feedback mechanisms contribute to preventable errors.
Purpose: This quality improvement project evaluated the impact of the Medication Administration Evaluation and Feedback Tool (MAEFT) on clinician adherence to the “Rights” of safe medication administration and its effectiveness in reducing reported MAEs in outpatient infusion clinics.
Methods: A pre–post observational design was conducted across four outpatient infusion clinics. Data was collected using three complementary sources of the MAEFT: direct observation checklist, clinician self-evaluation surveys using the MAEFT Likert scale, and organizational incident reports. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test.
Results: Overall adherence to medication administration rights improved from 81.0% pre-implementation to 97.0% post-implementation. These improvements were associated with a 73% reduction in reported MAEs. Route-specific analysis demonstrated statistically significant improvements across multiple administration types, with intravenous medication administration showing the greatest improvement, increasing from a mean of 78.1% (SD = 9.87) pre-implementation to 97.1% (SD = 5.03) post-implementation. Clinician self-evaluations (n = 9 nurses) reflected increased perceived competence and adherence following MAEFT implementation.
Conclusion: Implementation of the MAEFT significantly improved medication administration adherence and reduced reported MAEs in outpatient infusion settings. Integrating structured evaluation and feedback tools into routine workflow and competency assessment may support sustained improvements in medication administration safety in outpatient infusion clinics.
Sigma Membership
Beta Upsilon
Type
DNP Capstone Project
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Drug Administration, Medication Errors, Infusions, Outpatient, Outpatient Medical Care
Advisor
Misty L. Pagan
Degree
DNP
Degree Grantor
Northern Arizona University
Degree Year
2026
Recommended Citation
Brady, Valerie M., "Effectiveness of a Medication Administration Safety Program in Outpatient Infusion Clinics" (2026). Group: Northern Arizona University School of Nursing, DNP Doctoral Papers. 47.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/group_nausn_dnp/47
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
None: Degree-based Submission
Acquisition
Self-submission
Date of Issue
2026-05-15
Full Text of Presentation
wf_yes
Description
This paper was completed as part of a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) clinical course focused on quality improvement and systems leadership. The assignment required the design, implementation, and evaluation of a Quality Improvement Project (QIP) addressing a clinical practice problem. The project evaluated adherence to safe medication administration practices in outpatient biologic infusion clinics using a structured observation and feedback tool, with an emphasis on improving patient safety and reducing medication administration errors.