Why Is It Important To Prevent Medication Errors?

Medication errors have significant implications on

patient safety

. These errors occur at all stages in medication use: ordering, prescription, dispensing, and administration. Error detection discloses those errors and thus, encourages a safe culture (Montesi & Lechi, 2009).

What happens when you make a medication error?

Making a medical error is the most feared consequence of practicing medicine. From misreading lab values to doing surgery on the wrong site, any slip in clinical judgment can potentially

cause serious injury

or even death.

Why are medication errors a problem?

Medication errors are among the most common health threatening mistakes that affect patient care. Such mistakes are considered as a global problem which

increases mortality rates, length of hospital stay, and related costs

.

How do medical errors affect patients?

While unintentional medical errors have an impact on patients and their families, they may also contribute to

adverse mental and emotional effects on

the involved provider(s). These may include burnout, lack of concentration, poor work performance, posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and even suicidality.

What can I do to prevent medication errors?

1. MINIMIZE CLUTTER. …
2. VERIFY ORDERS. …
3. USE BARCODES. …
4. BE AWARE OF LOOK-ALIKE SOUND-ALIKE (LASA) DRUGS. …
5. HAVE A SECOND PAIR OF EYES CHECK PRESCRIPTIONS. …
6. DESIGN EFFECTIVE WARNING SYSTEMS. …
7. INVOLVE THE PATIENT. …
8. TRUST YOUR GUT.

How can you prevent medication errors at home?

1. Make a medication list. …
2. Keep your medication list up-to-date. …
3. Read labels carefully. …
4. Follow dosing instructions exactly. …
5. Store medications in their original containers. …
6. Use a pillbox to organize medicines. …
7. Use one pharmacy for all prescriptions.

What is the most common cause of medication errors?

The most common causes of medication errors are:

Poor communication between your doctors

.

Poor communication between you and your doctors

.

Drug names that sound alike and medications that look alike

.

How do you deal with medical errors?

1. Acknowledge your mistake to the patient or family. …
2. Discuss the situation with a trusted colleague. …
3. Seek professional advice. …
4. Review your successes and accomplishments in medicine. …
5. Don't forget basic self-care.

Who is responsible for medication errors?

This type of prescription drug error is usually the fault of

the pharmacist

. It is generally the pharmacist's job to keep track of a patient's allergies and all medications the patient is taking (to avoid harmful interactions between more than one medication), although your doctor should have this information as well.

What are the top 5 medical errors?

• Misdiagnosis. Errors in diagnosis are one of the most common medical mistakes. …
• Medication Errors. Medication errors are one of the most common mistakes that can occur during treatment. …
• Infections. …
• Falls. …
• Being Sent Home Too Early.

What are the four causes of medical errors?

• The Eight Common Root Causes of Medical Errors. …
• Communication Problems. …
• Inadequate Information Flow. …
• Human Problems. …
• Patient-Related Issues.
• Organizational Transfer of Knowledge.
• Staffing Patterns and Workflow.
• Technical Failures.

What is considered a medical error?

Medical error:

the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended

(an error of execution) or the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim (an error of planning) (Reason, 1990).

³⁵

. An unintended act (either of omission or commission) or one that does not achieve its intended outcome (Leape, 1994).

What are the three common causes of medication errors APD?

• Inadequate nursing home staff.
• Errors when writing or reading prescriptions.
• Not providing food, water or antacids.

What are examples of medication errors?

• Prescribing.
• Omission.
• Wrong time.
• Unauthorized drug.
• Improper dose.
• Wrong dose prescription/wrong dose preparation.
• Administration errors including the incorrect route of administration, giving the drug to the wrong patient, extra dose or wrong rate.

How common are medication errors?

Medication errors are common in hospitals, but only

about 1 in a 100 actually results

in harm to the patient. Conversely, only about 30% of injuries due to drugs in hospitals are associated with a medication error, and are thus preventable.

What happens when you take medication at the wrong time?

However, medicines do sometimes cause serious harm if taken incorrectly. Both health workers and patients can make mistakes by prescribing, dispensing, preparing, administering or consuming the wrong medication or the wrong dose at the wrong time, which could result

in severe harm, disability and even death

.