POTENTIAL DRUG INTERACTIONS FAVORED BY NURSES' SCHEDULING: NARRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Patient safety constitutes a central pillar in the quality of healthcare delivery, with medication-related errors representing one of the main causes of preventable harm worldwide. Medication scheduling, a responsibility exclusively assigned to nurses in many healthcare settings, represents a strategic stage in the medication process and may function either as a protective barrier or as a facilitating factor for adverse events. This study aimed to critically analyze the scientific evidence regarding potential drug interactions associated with medication scheduling performed by nurses and their implications for patient safety. This is a narrative literature review with a qualitative and analytical-reflective approach, based on national and international publications and normative documents related to patient safety and drug interactions. The thematic analysis revealed that institutional standardization of administration times, combined with polypharmacy and pharmacotherapeutic complexity, may promote medication overlap and increase the risk of adverse events. The clinical and ethical role of nurses in critically evaluating prescriptions and defining individualized administration schedules is highlighted. It is concluded that medication scheduling should be understood as a clinically grounded decision integrated into a safety culture framework, requiring institutional strategies focused on continuing education and revision of care routines to mitigate risks.