Medication Errors In Research

"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” (NCCMERP, 2016). According to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (2010), medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year. Someone who has experience working with medications and the errors of them would be Laurie Dworkin. Laurie is one of the pharmacists at The Medical Center of Plano and she graciously allowed me to interview her on the topic of medication errors. We first discussed the hospitals current policy for reporting medication errors. Following this I asked if she had any recommendations for ways to prevent future medication errors and different methods to encourage reporting of the errors by staff.
First Key Concept
The NCCMERP Council (2016) lists several areas that errors can occur, for example:
prescribing, order communication, product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature, dispensing, compounding, distribution, administration, education, monitoring, and use. With so many different ways medication errors can occur, it is important that every hospital has a system for reporting these adverse events. At The Medical Center of Plano, the system used to report such events is called E-REACH. E-REACH is used to increase the operational efficiency of the facility. The program is a way of tracking errors to find out if there is something institutionally wrong that needs to be fixed or if this was an isolated incident. Once an event occurs, the staff member is instructed to go into the E-REACH system and follow the prompt of instructions to complete the form. Once submitted the report is sent to a review committee who then distributes it to the heads of the departments for further evaluation.
Second Key Concept
One of Laurie Dworkins biggest suggestions for decreasing medication errors is to read carefully (personal communication, February 6, 2016). She has seen too many occasions where staff members are in a rush and do not take the time to correctly read or input the orders. “The processes involved in the delivery of medication to a patient require precision, communication, and meticulous attention to detail by hospital staff” (Polnariev, 2014). The importance of double-checking was also stressed. “Another thing to remember is if you come across anything that you have questions or concerns about, always make sure to ask” (Laurie Dworkin, personal communication, February 6, 2016).
Third Key Concept
Laurie Dworink seemed a bit stumped when asked about methods to encourage reporting of medication errors.
In her experience, Laurie finds that many staff members are scared to report the error in fear that they will have major repercussion because of it (personal communication, February 6, 2016). “It is important that the nurses and other medical staff understand that by reporting the error it could change the current process of things to help protect patients in the future,” says Laurie Dworink (personal communication, February 6, 2016).
Conclusion
With such high numbers of medication errors and so many ways it can happen, it’s extremely important for staff members to take their time and read every order carefully. There is no harm in asking questions and double-checking before administration. If an error does occur, for patient safety sake, report the error to the correct application, such as E-REACH, so the situation can be reviewed to see if a change should be
made.