Patient Safety Assignment
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School
California State University, Fullerton *
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Course
1964
Subject
Medicine
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by marttiatoo
Running Header: MEDICATION ERRORS
1
Introduction:
Prescription mistakes endanger patients' health and well-being and lead to needless suffering.
Since medication mistakes are a typical source of suffering for patients, these mistakes might
be relatively harmless annoyances, or they can be catastrophic medical emergencies that
result in permanent disability or even death. Results can be mild to severe. Understanding the
causes and consequences of pharmacological errors is essential for preventing them.
Awareness is also critical (Agrawal et al.,2019).
Background History:
Medication administration problems have been an issue for quite some time, with the oldest
descriptions dating back to the 1930s. This problem has been bothersome for a very long
time. Patient safety and health are of paramount importance. Hence, these types of mistakes
must be avoided at all costs. Despite this, the problem did not garner much attention until the
1980s, when the Institute of Medicine produced a study titled "To Err is Human: Building a
Safer Health System" (IOM). There had just recently been a lot of focus on this issue. This
article examined the prevalence of mistakes in the pharmaceutical industry and the potential
fallout from those mistakes. In addition, the author recommended adopting targeted programs
to minimize the probability that errors of a similar sort will occur in the future. In addition,
the author suggested building programs to reduce the likelihood of such mistakes happening
in the future. Errors could be reduced with the use of these programs (Cohen MR, 2020).
Problem Statement:
Medication errors, such as incorrect dose or delivery, are a common source of patient
damage. These worries originate from the reality that several possible outcomes have
negative implications. Research that the Institute of Medicine carried out indicated that
prescription errors are responsible for the large majority of adverse drug events (ADEs). In
cases like these, ADEs might have been avoided. When medication is administered without a
doctor's supervision, the chance of having unwanted side effects (ADEs) rises. According to
the results of various research, as much as 70% of ADEs experienced by hospitalized patients
may be attributable to medication errors. When a person takes a prescription for which they
have not been prescribed, they may have unwanted side effects known as adverse drug
responses (ADEs). Human pharmaceutical distribution mistakes are expected to cost the US
healthcare system $177 billion annually (Agrawal et al.,2019).
Statistics and Proof of Severity:
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), over 1.3 million ADEs were reported
in the United States in 2018. As a result of these ADEs, over 123,000 people required medical
attention, and over 28,000 people tragically lost their lives. More than 1,3 million ADEs were
reported in the US in 2018 (Cohen MR, 2020).
Preventable prescription errors are responsible for an estimated 440,000 annual visits to
emergency departments and over 100,000 annual hospitalizations in the United States (5),
according to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA). The survey also concluded that, after heart disease and cancer, drug errors are the
third most significant cause of mortality in America (Thompson, 2020).
Causes of the Patient Safety Issue:
Addressing the Issue:
Below, we will look at some typical sources of inaccuracy in the
pharmaceutical industry. Possible causes include illegible handwriting or a mistake in the
prescribed dosage (Thompson, 2020). Pharmaceutical distribution mistakes can have real
consequences for patients, as Agrawal et al. (2019) noted. Results may include incorrect
dosing or prescriptions. Medication mistakes occur when the wrong drug, dose, or
administration schedule is given.
(Cohen MR, 2020).
In the following sections, we'll examine some of the many strategies healthcare providers
might use to avoid prescription mistakes.
Implementing electronic health records (EHRs) and other health information technology
systems is being studied to enhance the procedures of medication ordering and delivery
procedures. Raising health literacy and encouraging two-way communication between
patients and medical professionals would be helpful (Thompson, 2020).
Drug reconciliation processes check that medication lists are accurate and help prevent
prescription mistakes. There is a wealth of information available to doctors at all times to
help them become more proficient in the safe administration of medications.
Medication errors can be avoided with the help of electronic health records and other forms
of health IT. For instance, EHRs can warn clinicians quickly if pharmaceutical orders don't
follow recommendations. Rules and standard infractions can trigger these alerts and
notifications. Reporting and analytics tools in healthcare IT can help doctors see trends in
medication errors. That's why businesses may improve their operations piece by piece
(Agrawal et al.,2019).
Conclusion:
Medicine errors are a significant patient safety issue that can harm individuals, healthcare
providers, and organizations. Medication blunders hurt more than just patients. Healthcare
firms must take a holistic approach to solve this problem. This approach should include
EHRs, health IT systems, and medical professional training. A proactive approach to
pharmaceutical error prevention and correction may improve patient safety, healthcare costs,
and the institution's reputation. All these are possible scenarios.
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References
Agrawal A, Aronson JK, Britten N, et al. (2019). Medication errors: consensus conference
issues and recommendations. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 67(6), 592-
598. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2009.03414.x
Cohen
MR.
(2020).
Errors
with
medications,
49(11),
72–72;
doi:
10.1097/01.NURSE.0000585984.56103.09
Thompson B, Conrad G, Gum MO, et al. (2021). Ashp remote pharmaceutical order
processing guidelines. AJHP: official journal of the American Society of Health-
System Pharmacists, 67(8), 672-677. doi:10.2146/sp100003