Recommendations for Reducing Medication Errors
Recommendations for Reducing Medication Errors
The recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report "To Err Is Human. Building a Safer Health System" report has focused public and government attention on the problem of errors in the provision of medical care. This report examines available information about errors in medical care and concludes that 44,000-98,000 Americans die each year from medical mistakes. A substantial contributor to the resultant cost, morbidity, and mortality from medical mistakes are deficiencies and errors in the use of medications. The IOM report also examines the available information and recommendations on potential solutions to the problem, and concludes that our present level of understanding of these solutions, while incomplete, is substantial. This is particularly true in the area of medication errors. By applying presently available concepts in medication error reduction, healthcare providers and organizations can start working to dramatically reduce the risk of adverse drug events in their patients. Selected recommended medication error reduction strategies for patients, caregivers, and healthcare organizations are reviewed in this article. Most of the recommendations have been previously promoted through the work of Michael Cohen, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)(www.ismp.org) the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (www.ihi.org), the United States Pharmacopeia (www.usp.org), the National Coordinating Council on Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP), the National Patient Safety Foundation, American Society of Health-system Pharmacists, Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, as well as in the IOM report. Present recommendations to reduce patient risk for adverse events resulting from deficiencies in the medication use process are summarized in this article and organized as follows:
The recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report "To Err Is Human. Building a Safer Health System" report has focused public and government attention on the problem of errors in the provision of medical care. This report examines available information about errors in medical care and concludes that 44,000-98,000 Americans die each year from medical mistakes. A substantial contributor to the resultant cost, morbidity, and mortality from medical mistakes are deficiencies and errors in the use of medications. The IOM report also examines the available information and recommendations on potential solutions to the problem, and concludes that our present level of understanding of these solutions, while incomplete, is substantial. This is particularly true in the area of medication errors. By applying presently available concepts in medication error reduction, healthcare providers and organizations can start working to dramatically reduce the risk of adverse drug events in their patients. Selected recommended medication error reduction strategies for patients, caregivers, and healthcare organizations are reviewed in this article. Most of the recommendations have been previously promoted through the work of Michael Cohen, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)(www.ismp.org) the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (www.ihi.org), the United States Pharmacopeia (www.usp.org), the National Coordinating Council on Medication Error Reporting and Prevention (NCCMERP), the National Patient Safety Foundation, American Society of Health-system Pharmacists, Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, as well as in the IOM report. Present recommendations to reduce patient risk for adverse events resulting from deficiencies in the medication use process are summarized in this article and organized as follows:
general safety strategies and safety system design strategies for improving patient safety
implementation of processes, policies, and rules to improve use in healthcare organizations
individual actions to reduce patient risk from medication errors
Source...