| Background: Serious medication errors continue to exist in hospitals even though there is technology that could potentially eliminate them such as bar code medication administration (BCMA). Little is known about the degree to which the culture of patient safety is associated with the behavioral intention to use BCMA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between patient safety culture and BCMA perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use among registered nurses in hospitals to determine the behavioral intention to use BCMA technology based on the Technology Acceptance Model.;Methods: A correlational design using quantitative surveys with a convenience sample of 163 registered nurses at rehabilitation and acute care hospitals using bar code medication administration was used in this study. The primary outcome variable of interest is BCMA behavioral intention to use. As independent variables, demographics and work characteristics and patient safety culture composites including teamwork within hospital units, communication openness, and feedback and communication about errors, and hospital management support for patient safety were included.;Results: There were significant relationships of BCMA perceived usefulness (PU) (r = .432, p<0.001), BCMA perceived ease of use (PEOU) (r = .333, p<0.001) with BCMA behavioral intention to use (BI) in the bivariate analyses. However, BCMA PEOU was not significantly related to BCMA BI in the multivariate relationship after controlling for demographics, work characteristics, and patient safety culture. In the multivariate regression model of BCMA BI, age had a statistically significant negative impact (β = -.17, p<0.05), teamwork within hospital units (β = .20, p<0.05) and BCMA PU (β = .35, p<0.01) both had a statistically significant positive impact. The overall BCMA BI model explained 24% (p<0.001) of variance.;Conclusion: Identified factors influencing the behavioral intention to use BCMA can help inform hospitals to develop a tailored intervention for registered nurses to promote the use of BCMA. Adherence to BCMA could decrease medication administration errors. |
