NURSING ECONOMIC$/September-October 2012/Vol. 30/No. 5 288 dence of medication errors remains an issue. It is widely believed the occurrence of med- ication errors far exceeds the reported errors (Carlton & Blegen, 2006; Ulanimo, O’Leary-Kelley, & Connolly, 2007). Barker, Flynn, Pepper, Bates, and Mikeal (2002) found that 19% of the doses administered in 36 institutions were in error with 7% regarded as potentially harmful. Thus, the impact of medication errors on patient quality and safety is an ongoing concern, and research into causes of errors and strategies for improvement is needed. Although medication safety is a concern of all health care profes- sionals, the nurse is a key clini- cian in the process and is most likely the final barrier between the patient and an error. Carlton and Blegen (2006) noted medication errors occur due to active failures and latent conditions. Active fail- ures in dosage calculation, follow- ing protocols, and lack of pharma- cology knowledge are critical for nurse leaders to address, but just as important are latent conditions that contribute to errors. Latent conditions include in- adequate staffing, time pressures, T HE CHANGING REIMBURSE- ment system with increas- ed emphasis on quality outcomes tied to payment has elevated the importance of the role of nurses in patient care. The delivery of medications is a high- risk activity involving many indi- viduals – physicians, pharmacists, and nurses – and errors may be the result of failures at a variety of steps in the process. A number of strategies have been implemented to improve the safety of medica- tion prescribing, transcribing, dis- pensing, and administering. These include computerized physician order entry, medication reconcili- ation, automated medication dis- pensing systems, bar code admin- istration systems, and smart pumps (Elias & Moss, 2011; Jayawardena et al., 2007; Richardson, Bromirski, & Hayden, 2012). Yet the inci- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The prevalence of medication administration errors continues to be a problem requiring the attention of nurse leaders. In this study the relationship between nurse staffing and the occurrence of medication errors was examined. Using a retrospective design, researchers analyzed second- ary data from administrative databases of one hospital con- taining 801 weekly staffing intervals and 31,080 patient observations. The current study shows that increasing the number of RN hours and decreasing or elimi- nating LPN hours can be a strategy to reduce medication errors. Karen H. Frith E. Faye Anderson Fan Tseng Eric A. Fong Nurse Staffing Is an Important Strategy to Prevent Medication Errors in Community Hospitals KAREN H. FRITH, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, is a Professor of Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL. E. FAYE ANDERSON, DNS, RN, NEA-BC, is an Associate Professor of Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL. FAN TSENG, PhD, is a Professor of Management Science, College of Business Administration, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL. ERIC A. FONG, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Management, College of Business Administration, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL.