Educational Targets to Reduce Medication Errors by General Surgery Residents.

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Patient Safety
• Surgical Residency Education

Background:

• Hospitalized patients face frequent medication errors.
• Data on factors contributing to medication order errors by general surgery residents are limited.
• Understanding these errors is crucial for improving patient safety and resident training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify patterns in medication order errors made by general surgery residents.
• To establish educational targets for reducing medication errors in this population.
• To inform strategies for enhancing patient safety in surgical care.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study design.
• Analysis of inpatient medication orders from a computerized physician order entry system.
• Review of orders placed by general surgery residents at a single academic medical center from 2011 to 2018.

Main Results:

• 4.2% of over 571,000 medication orders triggered pharmacist intervention.
• Common errors included duplicate therapies (36.1%) and renal dosing errors (31.3%).
• Error rates were higher in the intensive care unit and during August, with notable exceptions for antimicrobials and anticoagulants.

Conclusions:

• Medication order errors by general surgery residents are prevalent.
• Errors are associated with specific therapeutic classes, the start of the academic year, and intensive care unit settings.
• Findings support targeted educational interventions and interdisciplinary team collaboration for quality surgical care.