Increasing Medication Errors

Raising the Awareness of Medication Errors

Introduction Medication errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States, ranked behind heart disease and cancer. 1.3 million people are injured each year because of medication errors (Melissa Conrad Stoppler, 2014). Four out of five adverse events take place in hospitals. An adverse event is “an injury caused directly by medical management rather than the underlying disease or condition of the patient” (Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, 2000). Medication errors can take place in hospitals, nursing homes, doctor offices, at home, or while receiving drugs from a pharmacy.

Errors are Reviewed and used in Studies

The FDA reviews all medication errors. Between 1993 and 1998, they found

Most hospitals today send out a patient satisfaction survey so that the patients can reflect on their past visit and be transparent about whether they feel they were given quality care. The patient needs to know that without a doubt, that they will be given the best quality care. If a medication error accidentally takes place, it should be identified, acknowledged and there must be a corrective action

With this system, the authorizing prescriber can enter specific patient orders into a computer program that also contains patient demographics, allergies, conditions and lab values. Electronically, checks and balances are performed and the orders are automatically sent to the pharmacy for review (Binder, 2013). Advances in technology have safeguarded the process and prevented medication errors ever since. The FDA, along with others, such as the Joint Commission have reviewed and have made necessary changes which improved the outcome of medication errors in America. One of the greatest changes that took place in 2002 when the FDA proposed a new ruling that introduced the use of bar codes on drugs in the hospital setting. The bar codes had to match the patient profile when administering at the bedside (Strategies to Reduce Medication Errors: Working to Improve Medication Safety, 2015). In December of 2003, safety reporting was proposed by the FDA. This would require the submission of all suspected serious reactions for blood and blood products, and required continued reporting of important potential medication errors by all medical facilities and providers (Strategies to Reduce Medication Errors: Working to Improve Medication Safety,