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It is vital that everyone involved in a patient’s care practices safe handling of medication to reduce the risk of complications and side effects.
When medication errors occur.
Medication errors most frequently occur:
- When a physician prescribes medicines for a patient, with errors including incorrect dosage rates or even the wrong drug for their condition.
- When the pharmacy dispenses the medication. They may label it incorrectly or fail to correctly mix up the medicine.
- When taking the medicine. These errors occur when a patient takes the medicine, either at the wrong time or dosage or via the wrong route.
The impact of medication errors.
Medication errors can have a profound effect on patient health and morale, with unexpected side effects, adverse reactions and an increased incidence of falls leading them to distrust the medical profession and become reticent to accepting future prescriptions. And this is the best case scenario – it is estimated that 1700 people every year lose their lives due to medication errors.
Preventing medication errors.
Medication errors tend to be caused by inadequate training, fatigue and systemic issues such as understaffing and inefficient information systems. Overcoming these challenges requires that prescribers are adequately trained by independent companies such as https://www.tidaltraining.co.uk/health-and-social-care-courses/safe-handling-of-medication-training/, that due diligence is performed at all stages from prescription to issue and that regular quality checks are conducted to test that systems and training are effective and appropriate.
In conclusion, reducing the rate of medication errors requires a multi-pronged approach and a commitment to transparency and accountability.
