Identifying rates and risk factors for medication errors during hospitalization in the Australian Parkinson’s disease population: A 3-year, multi-center study

Abstract

Background Admission to hospital introduces risks for people with Parkinson’s disease in maintaining continuity of their highly individualized medication regimens, which increases their risk of medication errors. This is of particular concern as omitted medications and irregular dosing can cause an immediate increase in an individual’s symptoms as well as other adverse outcomes such as swallowing difficulties, aspiration pneumonia, frozen gait and even potentially fatal neuroleptic malignant type syndrome. Objective To determine the occurrence and identify factors that contribute to Parkinson’s medication errors in Australian hospitals. Methods A retrospective discharge diagnosis code search identified all admissions for people with Parkinson’s disease to three tertiary metropolitan hospitals in South Australia, Australia over a 3-year period. Of the 405 case notes reviewed 351 admissions met our inclusion criteria. Results Medication prescribing (30.5%) and administration (85%) errors during admission were extremely common, with the most frequent errors related to administration of levodopa preparations (83%). A higher levodopa equivalent dosage, patients with a modified swallowing status or nil by mouth order during admission, and patients who did not have a pharmacist led medication history within 24 hours of admission had significantly higher rates of medication errors. Conclusions This study identified 3 major independent factors that increased the risk of errors during medication management for people with Parkinson’s disease during hospitalization. Thus, targeting these areas for preventative interventions have the greatest chance of producing a clinically meaningful impact on the number of hospital medication errors occurring in the Parkinson’s population.

Safety perception in patients with advanced idiopathic Parkinson’s disease – a qualitative study

“…That being said, healthcare which deviates from patient needs or grievances have led to a loss of safety among iPD-patients ( Owen et al, 2022 ). This phenomenon does not seem to be unfounded, as iPD-patients are prone to inadequate prescribing and complications during hospitalizations ( Gerlach et al, 2011 ; Mantri et al, 2019 ; Bakker et al, 2022 ; Richard et al, 2022 ). In our study, participants frequently described insufficient understanding of the disease and lack of expertise in terms of treatment specifics on the part of healthcare professionals as the cause of feeling unsafe.…”

Integrative Analysis of Predictors for Unfavorable Course of Parkinson Disease According to Medical Care Assessment: Cohort Retrospective Study

“…Полученные данные согласуются с данными, указывающими на важность адекватного назначения препаратов леводопы, отмечена роль своевременного назначения препаратов, содержащих леводопу, на увеличение продолжительности жизни при БП, но только в случае, если леводопатерапия начата до того, как пациент достигнет стадии инвалидности (назначение леводопы до стадии III по Хен и Яру) 4 [19,20]. Также рядом авторов [21][22][23] указывалось на роль правильного назначения препаратов, содержащих леводопу, в профилактике ухудшения двигательных функций при БП. J.…”

Self-administration medication errors at home and its predictors among illiterate and low-literate community-dwelling older adults with polypharmacy: A negative binomial hierarchical regression

“…According to this definition, medication errors may occur at any stage, including prescribing, compounding, dispensing, distribution, and administration [2]. Previous studies have mainly focused on medication errors caused by health professionals [3][4][5]. However, in many cases, patients themselves commit medication errors during self-administration [6].…”