<![CDATA[Background: Medication administration errors are a patient safety issue that may result in injury, prolonged hospitalization, increased healthcare costs, and death. Barcode Medication Administration (BCMA) is a barcode-based verification technology used to confirm patient identity, medication, dose, time, and route before medication administration. Objective: This article aims to review scientific evidence regarding the role of BCMA in preventing medication administration errors and supporting patient safety in hospitals. Methods: A literature review was conducted using PubMed and ScienceDirect on April 26–27, 2024. The keywords included barcode medication administration, patient safety, medication error, and hospital. Articles were considered eligible if they were published between 2015 and 2024, available in full text, open access, conducted in hospital settings, and addressed BCMA or medication administration safety. Of 662 identified articles, five met the criteria and were synthesized narratively. Results: The synthesis showed that BCMA has the potential to support patient safety by improving patient and medication verification, strengthening adherence to the rights of medication administration, and reducing several types of medication administration errors. However, its benefits are influenced by infrastructure readiness, barcode quality, hardware and software issues, workflow compatibility, user training, and the risk of non-compliance or workarounds. Conclusion: BCMA is a technology that has the potential to help prevent medication errors and improve patient safety in hospitals. However, its successful implementation depends not only on the availability of the technology, but also on organizational readiness, nurse training, system integration, and user compliance in consistently following scanning procedures.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
