The impact of label design on reducing the risk of medication errors

Estimating the impact of label design on reducing the risk of medication errors by applying HEART in drug administration

Aceves-Gonzalez, Caro-Rojas, Rey-Galindo, Aristizabal-Ruiz, Hernández-Cruz. 2023. (View Paper → )

Medication errors are one of the biggest problems in healthcare. The medicines’ poor labelling design (i.e. look-alike labels) is a well-recognised risk for potential confusion, wrong administration, and patient damage. Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) encourages the human-centred design of system elements, which might reduce medication errors and improve people’s well-being and system performance.

Hospitals are hard places that work. Clinicians face ‘error producing conditions’ such as a shortage of time available for error detection and correction, no independent checking of output, and distractions… they all increase the probability of human error. A well designed label can reduce errors by 40%.

This is one of the best examples of design that I’ve come across.