Occurrence and types of medication error and its associated factors in a reference teaching hospital in northeastern Iran: a retrospective study of medical records

Abstract

Background Medication errors are categorized among the most common medical errors that may lead to irreparable damages to patients and impose huge costs on the health system. A correct understanding of the prevalence of medication errors and the factors affecting their occurrence is indispensable to prevent such errors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and types of medication errors among nurses in a hospital in northeastern Iran. Methods The present descriptive-analytical research was conducted on 147 medical records of patients admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine at a hospital in northeastern Iran in 2019, selected by systematic sampling. The data were collected through a researcher-made checklist containing the demographic profiles of the nurses, the number of doctor's orders, the number of medication errors and the type of medication error, and were finally analyzed using STATA version 11 software at a significance level of 0.05. Results Based on the findings of this study, the mean prevalence of medication error per each medical case was 2.42. Giving non-prescription medicine (47.8%) was the highest and using the wrong form of the drug (3.9%) was the lowest medication error. In addition, there was no statistically significant relationship between medication error and the age, gender and marital status of nurses (p > 0.05), while the prevalence of medication error in corporate nurses was 1.76 times higher than that of nurses with permanent employment status (IRR = 1.76, p = 0.009). The prevalence of medication error in the morning shift (IRR = 0.65, p = 0.001) and evening shift (IRR = 0.69, p = 0.011) was significantly lower than that in the night shift. Conclusion Estimating the prevalence and types of medication errors and identified risk factors allows for more targeted interventions. According to the findings of the study, training nurses, adopting an evidence-based care approach and creating interaction and coordination between nurses and pharmacists in the hospital can play an effective role in reducing the medication error of nurses. However, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the prevalence of medication errors.

Differences in shift and work‐related patterns between metropolitan and regional/rural healthcare shift workers and the occupational health and safety risks

“…Additionally, research shows that a lack of experience can cause increases in anxiety and stress due to a fear of making an error early in one's career 54,55 ; thus, could be why this study found perceived stress a contributing factor. Interestingly, even though medical errors are normally more prevalent on night shift, 56 it was not seen in this study. Research shows that irregular and/or quick turnaround shift patterns, such as from evening to early morning shifts and visa‐versa, may be of more concern, with these patterns more harmful to cognitive function than night shift alone due to the constant changes in sleep/wake cycle disruptions and less recovery time in‐between some shift type patterns 36,57,58 …”

Mediating role of psychological distress in the associations between medical errors, adverse events, suicidal ideation and plan among operating room nurses in China: a cross-sectional study

“…Based on recent studies, a significant proportion of healthcare professionals across different countries reported experiencing MEs and AEs. In the USA, approximately 1 in 10 physicians reported major MEs in the last 3 months,5 while in Iran, 24% of the doctors’ orders contained medication errors in one study involving 57 nurses 6. In China, there were 562 928 cases of AEs related to medical devices in 2021, with 0.03% resulting in fatalities and 5.63% in serious injuries 7.…”

Patient safety improvement in the gastroenterology department: An action research

“…It is estimated that about 50% of medical errors are preventable in hospitalized patients [ 14 ]. Therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to patient safety and prevention of medical errors [ 12 , 15 ]. All types of medical errors should be mentioned, for example, drug errors, misdiagnosis (late diagnosis and non-diagnosis), infections, and bedsores, wrong technique, laboratory errors, surgical sample errors, errors related to surgical pathology specimens [ 12 , 16 ].…”

“…Several studies have been conducted to further investigate bed falls, hospital-acquired infections, and medication errors. These results are important indicators of the quality of care [ 15 , 16 , 18 ].…”

“…Tabatabaee et al found that the mean prevalence of medication error per each medical case was 2.42. Giving non-prescription medicine (47.8%) was the highest and using the wrong form of the drug (3.9%) was the lowest medication error and there was no statistically significant relationship between medication error and the age, gender and marital status of nurses but it had relation with employment status and night shift [ 15 ]. Also Jabarkhil et al noted that the safety culture of the patients at the hospital was inappropriate, particularly in the eight dimensions of the patient safety culture, immediate intervention was necessary in Afghanistan [ 16 ].…”