Economic impact of medication error: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Patient Safety
• Pharmacoeconomics

Background:

• Medication errors contribute significantly to patient morbidity and mortality.
• Quality improvement interventions require clinical and cost-effectiveness data.
• Quantifying the economic burden of medication errors is crucial for intervention justification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and quantify the economic burden associated with medication errors.
• To identify the range of costs attributable to medication errors across different settings and error types.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search of multiple databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, CINAHL, EconLit, ABI/INFORM, Business Source Complete) for studies published between 2004 and 2016.
• Inclusion of studies assessing the economic impact of medication errors, with cost values standardized to Euro 2015.
• Narrative synthesis of findings from 16 included studies.

Main Results:

• Mean cost per medication error varied substantially, ranging from €2.58 to €111,727.08 across studies.
• Healthcare costs were the primary metric for economic impact (15 studies), with one study assessing litigation costs.
• Hospital settings dominated the economic impact assessments (12 studies), with limited data on primary care costs (4 studies).

Conclusions:

• Significant variability exists in reported financial costs, patient populations, settings, and types of medication errors studied.
• Many included studies were of poor methodological quality, limiting the reliability of economic impact assessments.
• Economic impact assessment predominantly focused on hospital settings, with a notable lack of primary care data and limited parameters used.