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Article History

Received: 9 February 2026

Accepted: 14 May 2026

First Online: 20 May 2026

Declarations

:

: The project was assessed by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics North (case number: 629685), which determined that the study falls outside the scope of the Norwegian Health Research Act (§ 2), and approval from a medical research ethics committee was therefore deemed unnecessary. The study was approved by Sikt, the Norwegian agency for shared services in education and research (approval number: 312215). All participants provided written, voluntary, and informed consent and signed a consent form to participate before recruitment. Information leaflets about the research project were distributed to patients before the observation periods. The participating HCPs received verbal consent from patients to be accompanied by the first author during their visits. The participants were informed that they could withdraw from the study at any time without consequences. Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the research process. During the fieldwork, photographs of the medication storage systems, medication rooms, and documentation practices were taken. No images included identifiable patient information. Patients and HCPs were informed in advance about the purpose of the photographs, and verbal consent was obtained before each photo was taken. Images were anonymized and handled in accordance with national data protection guidelines. All procedures were carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national guidelines.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.