Error in Drugs Consumption Among Older Patients

Area of Science:

• Clinical Pharmacy
• Patient Safety
• Pharmacoeconomics

Background:

• Generic drug cost-effectiveness promotes global use.
• Marketplace variety of bioequivalent drugs increases consumption complexity.
• Drug consumption errors pose a significant patient safety risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of drug consumption errors in a hospital setting.
• To identify types and potential severity of these medication errors.
• To explore patient factors associated with increased error rates.

Main Methods:

• Prospective clinical trial involving 600 hospitalized internal medicine patients.
• Medication reconciliation comparing prescribed vs. carried drugs at various time points.
• Analysis of drug consumption errors, including type, therapeutic family, and potential for adverse events.

Main Results:

• 13 cases (2.17%) of drug consumption errors identified.
• Most errors involved duplicate drugs, chemically similar medications, or different drugs for the same condition.
• 76.9% of errors had the potential for serious adverse drug events.
• Higher error rates observed in female, elderly, and poly-medicated patients.

Conclusions:

• Variations in drug names, colors, and shapes contribute to patient confusion and errors.
• Medication errors can lead to severe adverse drug effects, increasing morbidity and mortality.
• Interventions are needed to mitigate risks associated with complex medication regimens.