A new report confirms medication errors are the most common
A new report confirms medication errors are the most common
A new report says medication errors are the most common type of medical errors at health care facilities in the United States, seeming to confirm the findings of a controversial 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report.
HCPro, a health care consulting company in Marble-head, MA, announced the results of the survey, which it conducted in an effort to determine the nature and frequency of medical errors in health care facilities. The survey was launched in response to the IOM report that said medical errors in U.S. hospitals may be responsible for up to 98,000 deaths per year. HCPro surveyed about 300 risk- and quality-assurance managers, senior administrators and nonphysician clinical staff from 380 hospitals.
Ninety-four percent of those surveyed reported that medication errors had occurred at their facilities during the past year. Sixty-four percent also said that medication errors were the most frequent medical error, followed by patient falls and delay of treatment.
In addition, 13 respondents said the medication errors had led to deaths. Out of 95 deaths in the past year at the hospitals surveyed, 29 were caused by medication errors.
"While there has been considerable debate over the validity of the IOM findings, our survey clearly indicates that medical errors are a legitimate and critical concern for healthcare professionals," says Bob Croce, executive editor at HCPro. He notes that the results of the HCPro survey are almost identical to the IOM survey, with medication errors ranking No. 1 in both surveys.
In a related effort, VHA Inc. Has launched three new medication error reduction initiatives, engaging clinical teams from more than 50 facilities in six states in a collaborative program to quickly reduce the likelihood of medication errors in their hospitals. This brings the total number of hospitals participating in VHA’s Clinical Advantage medication error reduction initiative to more than 100 nationwide. VHA is a national alliance of more than 2,000 community-based health care organizations.
The three new programs include hospitals from VHA’s East Coast, Empire States, Pennsylvania, Northeast and West Coast regions. The medication error initiative focuses on problematic drug labeling; inadequate practitioner and patient education; unrestricted drug access; ambiguous order communication; and error-prone device design. Other areas of concentration include the safe use of insulin, concentrated electrolytes, chemotherapy and drugs such as heparin and warfarin; and the use of automatic dispensing and medication delivery devices.
"The large number of facilities participating in this initiative underscores the importance VHA hospitals place on this issue," says Stuart Baker, MD, VHA’s executive vice president of clinical affairs. "We believe that through efforts such as this, VHA members can lead the way in developing methodologies to avoid unnecessary, costly, and often tragic medication errors."
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