The impact of barcode-assisted medication administration on medication administration errors in non-unit-dose settings: A systematic review

Objective: This study aims to investigate how barcode-assisted medication administration systems (BCMAs) can affect medication administration errors (MAEs) in non-unit-dose dispensing settings, since unit-dose dispensing practice can be a confounding variable affecting MAE rates. Materials and Methods: We conducted a systematic review of English articles on MEDLINE, EMBASE, EMCARE, CINAHL and Scopus, with the most recent search conducted on 1 February, 2024. Studies were meticulously examined to exclude those with unit-dose dispensing settings.We used ROBINS-I V2 for risk-of-bias assessment and narrative synthesis to summarise findings. Results: We included 4 papers in the review. The categories of MAEs reported among these studies are heterogeneous. Two studies give weak evidence, and 1 study gives moderate evidence that BCMA can lower some categories of MAEs. 1 study gives weak evidence that BCMA increases the wrong administration time error. Discussion: Studies provide weak to moderate evidence that barcode-assisted medication administration can lower certain categories of medication administration errors. However, some reported findings are minimal. Conclusion: More multi-ward, multi-hospital studies need to be conducted to provide stronger evidence on BCMA's impact on MAEs, especially on dosage-related MAEs, in settings without unit dose dispensing practices.