A Prospective Study on Medication Errors in an Intensive Care Unit

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Patient Safety
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• Medication errors are preventable events causing patient harm.
• Errors stem from knowledge gaps, performance issues, and psychological factors.
• Pharmacists, physicians, nurses, and administrators play key roles in mitigating errors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the frequency of medication errors in a secondary-care intensive care unit.
• To identify the primary causes of medication errors.
• To classify the types of medication errors observed.

Main Methods:

• A 6-month retrospective review of medical records in an intensive care unit.
• Inclusion criteria: patients over 14 years old.
• Data collected included co-morbidities, occupation, caste, gender, and medication errors.

Main Results:

• 116 medication errors were identified in 103 patients.
• Medication errors were more prevalent in male patients.
• Prescription errors, due to illegible handwriting, look-alike drugs, and incomplete dosing information, were most frequent.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare professionals require increased awareness of medication error significance.
• Modifying prescribing techniques and improving differentiation of look-alike drugs are necessary.
• Enhanced vigilance and systemic changes are vital for reducing medication errors.