QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MEDICATION ERRORS: THE INDIAN URBAN EXPERIENCE

Nandagopal Anitha*, Sultana Begum and Dr. G. Satish Reddy

ABSTRACT

Medication errors can be defined as “a failure in the treatment process that leads to, or has potential to lead to harm the patients”. Medication errors include prescribing errors, dispensing errors, medication preparation error, monitoring error and administration errors. The objective of this study is to determine the nature and rate of the medication errors, drug-drug interactions in a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad. Data was collected during eight months from October 2014 to May 2015. A total of 150 prescriptions were collected in which 51 prescriptions was showing errors. Overall errors rate among the prescriptions was found to be 34%. Errors owing to omission 9.3%, dosage errors 0.6%, wrong dose 14%, dose error 14% and frequency errors 11.3% and 20 prescriptions are showing drug-drug interactions. Medication errors are more common and have a clinical significance. However, most of the medication errors are unintentional. Since this is an observational study and there is no scope of any intervention which can modify outcome. This study will definitely highlight literature proven medication error happening in general wards which we will hope definitely increase at least awareness of health care professional which ultimately will decrease medication error and its related adverse event and drug-drug interactions to the patients.

Keywords: Medication error, Prescription error, Dispensing error, Medication prescription error, Administration error, Monitoring error.