Intravenous Admixture Preparation Considerations, Part 9-A: Error Prevention in Intravenous Admixture Preparation.

Intravenous admixture compounding is common practice in most hospitals throughout the world, regardless of the country. Compounding intravenous medications involves risk, as there is a high potential for error due to their complexity in compounding, and working in an aseptic environment itself poses issues for the compounder. Part 9-A of this series of articles on the topic of intravenous admixture preparation considerations discusses 1) the background, 2) types of errors, 3) where errors can occur, 4) automated parenteral nutrition compounding systems, 5) accuracy and strength issues, and 6) medication error prevention. Part 9-B of this series of articles will include 1) a discussion on standardization (of both formulas and procedures), 2) competency, 3) compliance, 4) a detailed table on the sources of errors, and 5) the considerations for the prevention of errors.