Effects of Altering the Infusion Fluid Label Design on the Drug Confirmation Procedure

－A Study Aimed at Reducing the Risk of Misidentification－

Abstract

The design of labels on infusion fluids manufactured and sold by Terumo Co., Ltd. was examined to prepare labels that are easy to check and reduce the risk of misidentification. To verify how easy the labels were for nurses to check, 10 infusion fluids in relatively frequent use were selected, and the labels in current use （current label） and the newly designed labels （new label） for each infusion fluid were compared. Eleven nurses examined the instruction sheets and infusion fluids. The presence/absence of misidentification incidents, gaze information, confirmation time, and subjective assessments were determined. One incident of misidentification occurred using the current label. Subjective assessment revealed that the new labels were easier to read and understand in more than 90％ of cases, presumably due to the layout of each new label, in which the most essential information for identifying the product were concentrated at the center of the label, enhancing identification efficacy. We intend to continue our efforts to achieve better label designs by more extensively examining opinions regarding these labels for actual use.