Most nurses are involved in medicines management, which is integral to promoting patient safety. Medicines management is prone to errors, which depending on the error can cause patient injury, increased hospital stay and significant legal expenses. This article describes a new approach to help minimise drug errors within healthcare settings where medications are prescribed, dispensed or administered. The acronym DRAINS, which considers all aspects of medicines management before administration, was devised to reduce medication errors on a cardiothoracic intensive care unit.