Abstract

This review critically examines the multifaceted dimensions of medication safety and error prevention within acute care nursing to synthesize contemporary evidence and identify effective strategies for improving patient outcomes. The study adopts a comprehensive narrative review approach, drawing on peer-reviewed literature to explore the determinants of medication errors, including human factors, system vulnerabilities, organizational influences, and technological limitations. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding how these variables interact within high-acuity clinical environments to influence medication administration practices.
The findings reveal that medication errors in acute care are predominantly driven by staffing constraints, workload pressures, communication breakdowns, pharmacological complexity, and gaps in professional knowledge. Organizational and cultural barriers, including weak safety climates and ineffective reporting systems, further exacerbate these challenges. While technological innovations such as electronic documentation systems and decision-support tools have enhanced medication safety, their impact is often limited by usability issues, inadequate training, and poor integration into clinical workflows. The review also highlights the critical role of nurses as frontline safeguards, emphasizing their responsibility in error prevention, detection, and recovery within complex care settings.
Furthermore, the analysis identifies evidence-based interventions—including standardized protocols, audit systems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and continuous professional development—as essential components of effective medication safety frameworks. Emerging approaches, such as resilience-based safety models and population-specific strategies, offer promising directions for future practice and research.
In conclusion, medication safety in acute care requires a holistic and systems-oriented approach that integrates human expertise, organizational support, and technological innovation. It is recommended that healthcare institutions strengthen workforce capacity, enhance training programs, optimize communication processes, and foster a culture of safety to reduce medication errors and improve patient care outcomes.