Medication Error Information
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Medication Errors Statistics
Expert/Advisory Panel Terms & Conditions / Copyright PSNet Privacy Policy External Link Disclaimer Patient Safety Primer Last Updated: March 2015 medication error definition Medication Errors Topics Resource Type Patient Safety Primers Safety Target Medication Errors/Preventable Adverse Drug Events Look-Alike, Sound-Alike Drugs More Share Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Print Background and definitions Prescription medication use types of medication errors is widespread, complex, and increasingly risky. Clinicians have access to an armamentarium of more than 10,000 prescription medications, and nearly one-third of adults in the United States take 5 or more medications. Advances in clinical therapeutics have undoubtedly resulted in major improvements in health for patients with many diseases, but these benefits have also been accompanied by increased risks. An adverse drug event (ADE) is defined
Medication Error Articles
as harm experienced by a patient as a result of exposure to a medication, and ADEs account for nearly 700,000 emergency department visits and 100,000 hospitalizations each year. ADEs affect nearly 5% of hospitalized patients, making them one of the most common types of inpatient errors; ambulatory patients may experience ADEs at even higher rates. Transitions in care are also a well-documented source of preventable harm related to medications. As with the more general term adverse event, the occurrence of an ADE does not necessarily indicate an error or poor quality care. A medication error refers to an error (of commission or omission) at any step along the pathway that begins when a clinician prescribes a medication and ends when the patient actually receives the medication. Preventable adverse drug events result from a medication error that reaches the patient and causes any degree of harm. It is generally estimated that about half of ADEs are preventable. Medication errors that do not cause any harm—either because they are intercepted before reaching the patient, or by luck—are often called potential ADEs. An ameliorable ADE is one in which the patient experienced harm from a medication that, while
Drug Event AlgorithmRecommendations / StatementsFor Consumers Consumer Information for Safe Medication Use Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. A significant number of those deaths examples of medication errors is due to medication errors. That is more than die from motor medication errors in hospitals vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS— three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die
Medication Errors Statistics 2015
annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primers/primer/23/medication-errors The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCC MERP) defines medication error as "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 professional practice, health care products, procedures, and systems, including http://www.nccmerp.org/consumer-information prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use." In an ongoing effort to decrease the number of adverse events due to medication errors, NCC MERP has developed the following listing of resources to provide consumers with information on safe medication use. This listing is by no means an all-encompassing list, but should serve as a starting point for gathering information. AARP Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality American Hospital Association American Pharmacists Association American Society of Health System Pharmacists Be MedWise Food and Drug Administration Food and Drug Administration – MedWatch Program Institute for Safe Medication Practices The Joint Commission National Council on Patient Information and Education Medication Use Safety Training Medicine Safety National Institutes of Health National Patient Safety Foundation Partnership for Prescription Assistance Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America SeniorCarePharmacist.com United States Pharmacopeia NAN Alert The National Alert Network (NAN) publishes the alerts from the National Medication Errors Reporting Program. NAN encourages the sharing and reporting of medication errors, so that lessons learned can be used to increase the sa
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