Medication Errors and Environmental Conditions Introduction: A medication error is defined 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 ("National Coordinating Counsel for Medical Error and Prevention," 2015, p. 1). Medication errors, when pertaining to nursing, are typically caused by either active failures or latent conditions. Active failures often display themselves as a form of incorrect drug calculations, lack of individual knowledge, and failure to follow established work place protocol. Latent conditions refer to time pressures, fatigue, understaffing (patient- nurse ratio increase), inexperience, and inadequate equipment (Carlton & Blegen, 2006). Environmental Conditions: In 2008, researchers estimated that potentially preventable adverse drug events kill 7,000 Americans annually and that medication errors that result in harm are the number-one cause of inpatient fatalities. While error rates vary widely among facilities, experts believe at least one medication error occurs per hospital patient every day (Anderson & Townsend, 2010, p. 24). Some of the most common medication errors that occur in the acute healthcare setting is due to the latent conditions. Nurses that reported working in …show more content…
Other preventions include: following protocols, following the six rights to medication admission, consulting other team members, knowledge of the medication, double checking all medication calculations, and taking the time needed to perform these steps properly (Hudson, 2014, p.