Medication Errors During Treatment with New Oral Anticancer Agents: Consequences for Clinical Practice Based on the...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pharmacology
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Patients on oral anticancer agents are at high risk for medication errors due to complex regimens and comorbidities.
• Systematic data on the frequency, causes, and harm of medication errors in this population are limited.
• Previous research indicated intensified clinical pharmacist support reduces drug-related problems and improves outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively analyze medication errors in patients initiating oral anticancer therapy.
• To characterize medication errors concerning type, cause, patient harm, and involved substances (antitumor agents, concomitant drugs, herb/food intake).
• To evaluate the impact of medication errors on patient safety during oral anticancer treatment.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from 202 patients starting new oral anticancer drugs.
• Advanced medication reviews conducted by clinical pharmacologists/pharmacists over 12 weeks.
• Characterization of medication errors, including their type, cause, harm, and contributing medications/substances.

Main Results:

• An average of 1.7 medication errors per patient were detected (335 total errors).
• 64.5% of errors involved concomitant medications; 28.4% were patient-related.
• Drug-drug or drug-food interactions accounted for 24.8% of errors, with 14.9% causing temporary patient harm.

Conclusions:

• Medication errors are frequent in patients receiving oral anticancer drugs, particularly involving concomitant medications and interactions.
• Current clinical decision support systems capture only a fraction of potential medication errors.
• Intensified support from clinical pharmacology/pharmacy specialists for patients and physicians is crucial for enhancing patient safety.