[Factors in the occurrence of medication errors and the use of order sets]

The packaging of the medication and the writing on the label can be the cause of medication errors. Errors in the intake of sodium chloride and potassium chloride have notably been due to the fact that the label of the infusion solute did not explicitly indicate the quantities present in the 500 mL and 1 000 mL bottles. Moreover, the meaning of the description comprising the term 'q.s.p. 1 000 mL' was not known by some of the nursing staff. These two factors, combined with the possibility of prescribing predefined order sets, have led to medication errors which have given rise to a study of how practices can be improved.