Abstract

AN EXCELLENT SYSTEM TO CONTROL MEDICATION ERRORS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN A HOSPITAL IN OMAN

Ahlam Omar Al - Rashdi, Safiya Mubark Al - Shamsi and Dr. Alka Ahuja*

ABSTRACT

Medication errors are amongst the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year.The National Coordinating Council for medication Errors and prevention has approved the following as a working definition of medication error: "Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm, while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patients or consumers. Such events may result from too many factors like poor professional practice, bad drug labeling and packaging and poor communication between physician and pharmacists. Safe and effective prescribing requires appropriate selection of the drug together with route of administration, dosage form, dose frequency and duration of therapeutic effect for the individual patient.[1] These include errors in Prescribing, dispensing, poor patient care etc. In IUS study, out of about 900 medication errors in children, about 30% were Prescribing errors, 25 % were dispensing errors and 40% were administration errors. In one study the most common prescribing error was writing the wrong dose.

Keywords: .