Evaluation of Medication Errors: A Review of Literature

Abstract

The goal of drug therapy is the achievement of defined therapeutic outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life while minimizing patient risk. Medication errors may be nobody’s baby, but when it happens, it could well turn out to be everyone’s worry and the reasons given for medication error range from silly to the downright serious. Medical negligence was cited as the cause of 27.6% of these adverse events and 69% by human error. Approximately 19% of these adverse events were drug related. Results showed the additional length of stay associated with an adverse drug event was 2.2 days and the increase in cost associated with an adverse drug event was $3244. Adverse drug reactions occur in at least 5% of hospitalized patients and the incidence increases with use of a large number of drugs. Although, the literature has provided practitioners with a series of operational definitions, the following developed by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, reviews some commonly accepted definitions associated with medication use safety. Medication errors should be identified and documented in order to recognize recurring causes and therefore develop systems to minimize them. Four most commonly used techniques are anonymous self-reports (questionnaires), incident reports, critical-incident reports and direct observation. Pharmacists can assist in practicing evidence-based medicine by guiding physicians’ prescribing practices to conform to those outlined in peer-reviewed literature.

Keywords: adverse drug event, costs, pharmacist, medication errors