Medication error is drug related medical practice.
Many article in medical journal show that medication error is importance.
March 13, 2009 — Parenteral medication errors at the administration stage are common in intensive care units and may result in permanent harm or death, according to a multinational study published online March 12 in the British Medical Journal.
The total prevalence of parenteral medication errors at the administration stage in intensive care units was found to be 74.5 errors per 100 patient days (95% confidence interval [CI], 69.5 – 79.4). In addition, while 71% of errors resulted in no change in the patient's health status,
0.9% of the total study population experienced permanent harm or death as a result of errors in the administration of parenteral drugs in intensive care units.
The 10 most common prescribing errors: tips on avoiding the pitfalls.
Article Excerpt
Numerous factors contribute to the medication errors that kill up to 98,000 patients each year.
Unnecessarily high dosages can result in increased side effects
with only a small therapeutic benefit, especially in elderly patients.
Lack of patient information--such as a history of allergies or
adverse drug reactions--is another cause of error and injury. Communication failures include
the use of ambiguous abbreviations, misinterpretation of verbal orders,
and lack of timely response to a patient's medication-related symptoms.
Dosing errors are common in children because of variability in dosage expressions
in drug references. Remedies for prescribing errors are described in detail here.
Medication errors are a significant cause of injury and expense.
An Institute of Medicine report estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 persons
die in US hospitals annually as a result of these errors. (1)
This report fueled dramatic interest in health care reform, including measures to
reduce medication errors. (2) A medication error is a preventable event
that could result in inappropriate therapy or harm to a patient. (3)
Although errors occur frequently during various steps in the drug treatment process
(ie, prescribing, interpreting, dispensing, and administering),they infrequently lead to harm. (4)
As a result, investigation has focused on errorsthat result in harm. An adverse drug event (ADE) is an injury from a drug-related intervention. (3,5) ADEs include nonpreventable side effects of medications,such as bradycardia associated with [beta]-blocker use. Ameliorable effects are those in which severity or duration can be significantly reduced with prompt recognition and appropriate management. (6) Preventable ADEs are those that can be avoided entirely--for example, by awareness that a patient is allergic to a specific antibiotic.
Ameliorable and preventable ADEs are examples of medication errors associated with harm.
LACK OF DRUG KNOWLEDGEErrors often arise from a lack of knowledge about drugs, including indications
and contraindications, appropriate doses, maximum dosages, routes,
and drug-drug interactions.
Gout medications are initiated to treat mild hyperuricemia from thiazide diuretics.
* Parkinsonian symptoms resulting from metoclopramide are over-treated with levodopa.
Misuse refers to actions that result in preventable complications. An example is prescribing
amoxicillin for a patient with a history of anaphylaxis to penicillin.
(8) Misuse can occur when a contraindication is unrecognized, as when metformin is
prescribed for women whose serum creatinine level exceeds 1.4 mg/dL (1.5 mg/dL for men).
The risk of lactic acidosis increases dramatically, and death occasionally ensues.
All above show that medical malpractice is preventable activity.
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