3. Define medication errors and classify their
significance
Understand the extent of medication errors
and their impact on patient care
Discuss the many factors that contribute to
errors and the impulse to “place blame” on
healthcare workers
Examine approaches to minimize the risk of
medication errors
4. "A medication error is any preventable event that
may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use
or patient harm while the medication is in the
control of the health care professional, patient, or
consumer. Such events may be related to:
National Coordinating Committee-Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP); accessed at
http://www.nccmerp.org/aboutMedErrors.html; Jan. 2012.
• professional practice
• health care products
• procedures and systems
• product labeling, packaging,
and nomenclature
• dispensing
• distribution
• administration
• education
• monitoring
5. Medication Errors in 1,116 Hospitals
Medication Error (Overall)
430,586
5.07% (of admission)
1 error every 22.7 hr
1 every 19.7 admission
6. found 616 medication errors (5.7%),
115 potential ADEs (1.1%), and 26 ADEs
(0.24%). Of the 26 ADEs, 5 (19%) were
preventable.
Most potential ADEs occurred at the stage of
drug ordering (79%)
The rate of potential ADEs was significantly
higher in neonates in the neonatal intensive
care unit.
Ref: JAMA. 2001;285(16):2114-2120. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2114
Reviewed 10 778 medication orders
8. Kohn et al. Committee on quality health care in America. IOM. Academy Press. 1999.
Extra Extra
Airlines expect 1-2 jets to
crash daily
Over 1000 deaths expected
weekly
=
44,000 – 98,000
deaths annually
due to
medical errors
9. A Comparison of Risks
Risk (per flight) of dying in a commercial
airline accident
1 in 8 million*
Risk (per hospital admission)
of dying from a medical error >1 in 1,000
*1 in 2 million from 1967-1976
11. NCC MERP. accessed Jan 2012. www.nccmerp.org
Classifying medication errors
A circumstances exist for potential errors to occur
B an error occurred but did not reach the patient
C error reached the patient but did not cause harm
D patient monitoring required to determine lack of harm
E error caused temporary harm and some intervention
F temporary harm with initial or prolonged hospitalization
G error resulted in permanent patient harm
H error required intervention to sustain the patient’s life
I error contributed to the patient’s death
15. Some reasons errors occur
• poor communications within healthcare team
• verbal orders
• poor handwriting
• improper drug selection
• missing medication
• incorrect scheduling
• look alike / sound alike drugs
• polypharmacy
• availability of floor stock (no second check)
• drug interactions
• hectic work environment
• lack of computer decision support
16. Calculation errors
Improper use of zeros & decimal points
Inappropriate use of abbreviations
Careless prescribing
Illegible handwriting
Missing information
Drug product characteristics
Compounding /drug preparation errors
Prescription labeling
Work environment & personnel issues
Deficiencies in medication use systems
17. Medication Errors, Who Makes Them?
Physician Pharmacist Nurse Patient
Any
member of
the health
care team
20. 0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
No Diagnosis Prohibited
Abbr
No Gen Name Prescription
Previlage
No.file No. weak
strenght
No Diagnosis
Prohibited Abbr
No Gen Name
Prescription Previlage
No.file No.
weak strenght
MOST COMMON ERROR TOTAL NO. OF ERROR QUARTER
No Diagnosis
148
Prohibited Abbr 80
No Gen Name
168
Prescription Previlage 57
No.file No. 98
Weak Strength 57
21.
22.
23.
24.
25. An anticonvulsant
approved in Canada and the US
since2005 to treat neuropathic pain
approved by the European
Commission in 2006 to treat
generalized anxiety disorder.
The maximum dose of pregabalin
depends on its indication but should
not exceed 600 mg/day.
26. Clinical studies including 5500 patients
showed that euphoric effects were reported
more frequently in pregabalin groups versus
placebo (4% vs. 1%, respectively).
A clinical abuse liability study found that
pregabalin had a potential for euphorigenic
activity in susceptible populations.
Therefore scheduled by the US Drug
Enforcement Administration under the
Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule V
drug, indicating that
it had abuse potential.
27. Emerg Med J 2013;30:874 doi:10.1136/emermed-2013-203113.20
•Abstracts
Lyrica Nights–recreational Pregabalin
Abuse In An Urban Emergency Dept
Author Affiliations
1.Emergency Department, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, United
Kingdom
"Pregabalin Abuse, Dependence, and Withdrawal: A
Case Report." The American Journal of Psychiatry,
167(7), p. 869
29. Reconciliation: A process of identifying the
most accurate list of all medications a
patient is taking—including name, dosage,
frequency, and route.
Requires comparing the patient’s list of
current medications against the physician’s
admission, transfer, and/or discharge
orders
Needs even for OPD patients by MOH
http://www.ihi.org/NR/rdonlyres/598D427A-4BDA-419D-91B5-
B836D23A6F1D/0/CampaignOverview101105.ppt#358,9,Prevent Adverse Drug Events by Implementing Medication
Reconciliation
32. Factors:
health status of patients
magnitude of overdose
damage as result of omission
Financial Implications
prolong hospital stays & increase health care
expenses
estimated to cost billions of dollars annually
additional medical management
33. Sources of Error
• Prescribing error - selecting the wrong or
inappropriate drug/dose/formulation/duration etc
• Communicating those instructions
• Supply error - timely; wrong drug, dose, route;
expired medicines, labelling.
• Administration error - timing; wrong route; wrong
rate/technique.
• Lack of user education - actions to take.
37. “AZT” for zidovudine (Retrovir)
could be azathioprine (Imuran)
“U” HAS been mistaken for “zero”(o)
10 U insulin order & patient received 100 insulin
units
“QD” has been read as “QID” or “OD”
DO NOT USE Lists
The Joint Commission
Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP
38.
39.
40. Decimal point errors cause significant
consequences
Decimal point errors occur
result of miscalculation
when writing orders or instructions
result of artifact on faxed order
Always write leading zero in front of
number < 1
Never write trailing zeros
41.
42.
43. e-Prescribing Systems:
Reduced medication errors by 85%
Net cost savings of $403,000 in ambulatory care settings22,23
Bar Code Electronic Medication Administration System (eMAR)
Technology:
51% reduction in medication errors
Annual savings of $2.2 million in a large academic hospital24,25
• Computerized Physician Order Entry
(CPOE):
– Reduced serious medication errors by 81%26
Notes
22. Kaushal, R., Kern, L.M., Barrón, Y., et al. (2010). Electronic prescribing improves medication safety in community-based office practices. J Gen Intern Med, 25(6), 530-536.
23. Weingart, S.N., Simchowitz, B., Padolsky, H., et al. (2009). An empirical model to estimate the potential impact of medication safety alerts on patient safety, health care utilization, and
cost in ambulatory care. Arch Intern Med, 169(16), 1465-1473.
24. Poon, E.G., Keohane, C.A., Yoon, C.S., et al. (2010). Effect of bar-code technology on the safety of medication administration. N Engl J Med, 362(18),1698-1707.
25. Maviglia, S.M., Yoo, J.Y., Franz, C., et al. (2007). Cost-benefit analysis of a hospital pharmacy bar code solution. Arch Intern Med, 167(8), 788-794.
26. Bates, D.W., Teich, J.M., Lee, J., et al. (1999). The impact of computerized physician order entry on medication error prevention. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 6(4), 313-321.
44. Clinical Effectiveness of Safe Practices
Intervention Results
Physician computer order entry 81% reduction of medication
errors
Pharmacist rounding with team 66% reduction of preventable
adverse drug events; 78%
reduction of preventable adverse
drug events
Rapid response teams Cardiac arrests decreased by 15%
Team training in labor and delivery 50% reduction in adverse
outcomes in preterm deliveries
Reconciling medication practices
upon hospital discharge
90% reduction in medication
errors
45. Failure to include concentration in
prescription can result in wrong dose being
dispensed
amoxicillin suspension 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) TID
Concentration?
“1 amp,” “1 vial,” “1 cap” unclear
multiple strengths, doses, or vial sizes
Order for one “vial” of magnesium sulfate?
2 mL vial (8 mEq)
20 mL vial (16 mEq)
10 mL vial of 50% concentration (40 mEq)
46. Handwriting of physicians is subject of jokes
no laughing matter
Unclear orders should be clarified
Use standardized, preprinted order forms
Computer generated & typewritten labels
Use of upper- and lowercase lettering
(TALLman)
47. Lack of medical information about patient
may cause error
age
weight
allergies
diagnosis
indication & severity of condition
48. Error is inevitable due to “our” limitations:
- limited memory capacity
- limited mental processing capacity
- negative effects of fatigue other stressors
We all make errors all the time
Patients suffer adverse events much more
often than previously realised
Errors often NOT immediately observed
49. Human beings will always make
errors
Errors are common in medicine,
killing tens of thousands
Naming, blaming and shaming
have no remedial value