Medication Errors
Medication Errors
This actionable evidence-based practice blueprint provides a checklist for clinicians to create an action plan to prevent medication errors in hospitals and ensure best patient care. This document is revised as needed to incorporate the latest best practices and gold standard of care. The e-book is available free of charge. © 2020 Patient Safety Movement Foundation.
Contributors:
PSMF Team The Challenge
A 2016 study showed one out of every two surgeries has a medication error or an adverse drug event, a major contributing factor to medication errors being the leading preventable cause of death for patients in the US. In addition to the high rate of surgery-related medication errors, drug infusion pump errors are another significant source of patient harm. Beyond the human toll, medication errors cost of about $42 billion a year globally. To reduce medication errors, hospitals and healthcare systems can implement a host of new approaches and technologies, such as automated infusion and IV injectable technologies, electronic medical records, and checklists. This blueprint outlines a number of protocols to help improve quality of care and to foster a culture of safety around medication practices and procedures.
