Predicting dispensing errors in community pharmacies: An application of the Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA)

Introduction The objective of this study was to use a prospective error analysis method to examine the process of dispensing medication in community pharmacy settings and identify remedial solutions to avoid potential errors, categorising them as strong, intermediate, or weak based on an established patient safety action hierarchy tool. Method Focus group discussions and non-participant observations were undertaken to develop a Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA), and subsequent focus group discussions applied the Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA) focusing on the task of dispensing medication in community pharmacies. Remedial measures identified through the SHERPA analysis were then categorised as strong, intermediate, or weak based on the Veteran Affairs National Centre for Patient Safety action hierarchy. Non-participant observations were conducted at 3 pharmacies, totalling 12 hours, based in England. Additionally, 7 community pharmacists, with experience ranging from 8 to 38 years, participated in a total of 4 focus groups, each lasting between 57 to 85 minutes, with one focus group discussing the HTA and three applying SHERPA. A HTA was produced consisting of 10 sub-tasks, with further levels of sub-tasks within each of them. Results Overall, 88 potential errors were identified, with a total of 35 remedial solutions proposed to avoid these errors in practice. Sixteen (46%) of these remedial measures were categorised as weak, 14 (40%) as intermediate and 5 (14%) as strong according to the Veteran Affairs National Centre for Patient Safety action hierarchy. Sub-tasks with the most potential errors were identified, which included ‘producing medication labels’ and ‘final checking of medicines’. The most common type of error determined from the SHERPA analysis related to omitting a check during the dispensing process which accounted for 19 potential errors. Discussion This work applies both HTA and SHERPA for the first time to the task of dispensing medication in community pharmacies, detailing the complexity of the task and highlighting potential errors and remedial measures specific to this task. Future research should examine the effectiveness of the proposed remedial solutions to improve patient safety.

Human–Robot Collaboration Trends and Safety Aspects: A Systematic Review

Smart manufacturing and smart factories depend on automation and robotics, whereas human–robot collaboration (HRC) contributes to increasing the effectiveness and productivity of today’s and future factories. Industrial robots especially in HRC settings can be hazardous if safety is not addressed properly. In this review, we look at the collaboration levels of HRC and what safety actions have been used to address safety. One hundred and ninety-three articles were identified from which, after screening and eligibility stages, 46 articles were used for the extraction stage. Predefined parameters such as: devices, algorithms, collaboration level, safety action, and standards used for HRC were extracted. Despite close human and robot collaboration, 25% of all reviewed studies did not use any safety actions, and more than 50% did not use any standard to address safety issues. This review shows HRC trends and what kind of functionalities are lacking in today’s HRC systems. HRC systems can be a tremendously complex process; therefore, proper safety mechanisms must be addressed at an early stage of development.

Safety Consciousness Concept and Measuring Scope

This study aimed to organize the concept and measuring scope of Safety Consciousness to apply it to the Regional Safety Index. The definition and measuring scope of safety consciousness need to be determined objectively so that anyone can accept it, since it can be interpreted subjectively. Therefore, we attempted to develop the logic objectively by analyzing the legal system, social norms, expert opinions, and surveys. First, safety consciousness was defined as a concept that is revealed from personal safety perception to safety action. Second, for perception to be linked to action, a variable that leads an individual to place high value to safety is important. Third, to develop safety consciousness, the following process is necessary: Institutionalization → Culturalization → Perception → Action, which is the measuring scope of safety consciousness. Finally, the roles of the public and individuals, and unclear concepts were clarified.

RISK AMONG CLEANERS: THE USAGE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is involved in many industries including cleaning nowadays. The influence factors and usage levels of PPE are very different based on groups. The data in this research is to collect and analysis through the qualitative method. A total of 34 cleaners was observed and interviewed. In this study, the influence factors of PPE usage included the scope of job tasks and works environment, organization culture, rule and enforcement, PPE accessibility/ availability, personal feeling and perspective, knowledge and awareness on safety and hazard factors, and personal behavior. The result also showed that the PPE usage condition is good at a moderate level which fits the cleaning tasks and works environment. The risk of cleaners is low. However, UCLEANSB takes safety action to maintain and enhance the PPE usage among cleaners. For further study, the study can implement to other diverse cleaning group samples with different job task categories.