A Prospective Study on Medication Errors in an Intensive Care Unit

Any preventable event related to drugs that may cause harm to a patient is known as "medication error". Errors occur due to a lack of knowledge, poor performance, and psychological lapses. The pharmacists has a major role along with physicians, nurses, and administrators to examine and improve the healthcare system in order to ensure patient safety. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency, causes, and types of medication errors in the secondary-care intensive care unit.

All medical records of intensive care unit patients, above 14 years of age, listing their co-morbid/non-co-morbid conditions, occupation, caste, and gender, were checked for medication errors for a period of 6 months at Government Head Quarters Hospital, Udhagamandalam.

According to the results of this study, 116 medication errors were found in 103 patients in the intensive care unit. The number of medication errors was higher in men than in women. The most common medication errors were prescription errors, which were due to illegible handwriting; the use of lookalike drugs; and incomplete dose, dosage, and frequency.

Considering the results of this study, it is important to increase awareness among healthcare professionals of varying stature about the significance of medication errors. It is also necessary to change the existing prescribing techniques and clearly differentiate lookalike drugs to avoid medication errors.