Drug errors: what role do nurses and pharmacists have in minimizing the risk?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare professional collaboration
• Medication safety research
• Clinical pharmacy practice

Background:

• Medication errors pose a significant risk to patient safety.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration is vital for effective medication error prevention.
• Current systems may have limitations in preventing medication errors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify interventions by nurses and pharmacists in drug administration.
• To underscore the role of nurses and pharmacists in error detection.
• To highlight needs for improved medication safety.

Main Methods:

• A multi-professional project was conducted.
• Interventions related to drug administration were analyzed.
• The process of querying prescriptions with prescribers was examined.

Main Results:

• Nurses and pharmacists actively intervene in the prescription process.
• These professionals are key in identifying prescribing errors.
• Their actions prevent errors from becoming medication errors.

Conclusions:

• Nurses and pharmacists are essential in the medication safety chain.
• Adequate training for healthcare staff is necessary.
• Systemic changes are required to further reduce medication errors.