Medication errors are major safety concerns in all hospital settings. The insufficient knowledge about managerial and process
improvement strategies required to reduce medication errors can be considered as one of the most important factors holding
back hospitals from achieving the desired goals for patient safety. However, strategies for medication error reduction cannot
be successfully implemented without a clear understanding of factors affecting medication delivery errors. This paper presents
a study in which healthcare professionals’ perceptions on three factors, namely (1) technical complexity of tasks/connections;
(2) resources problems; and (3) qualification of human resources, are analyzed within the medication delivery system at one
community hospital. The outcomes of this research are a theoretical model for reducing medication delivery errors and a set
of workflow design rules for healthcare professionals to continuously reduce medication delivery errors.
Keywords Healthcare systems - Management strategies - Medication delivery errors - Toyota Production System (TPS)