Validating a Classification Scheme for Medication Errors to be Used in Chemotherapy

The impact of a computerized physician order entry system on medical errors with antineoplastic drugs 5 years after its implementation

“…The pre‐implementation phase was conducted from February 2008 to May 2008 and consisted in the transcription and validation of handwritten prescriptions. MEs in handwritten orders were detected during the pharmaceutical validation process and then classified according to the ME classification scheme described by Gramage Caro et al . This classification scheme comprises 23 error categories (see Table ).…”

“…The post‐implementation phase was conducted from February 2014 to April 2014, during which period we assessed our experience of using the CPOE system. Prescriptions were validated as part of our routine clinical practice, and MEs were classified according to the scheme described by Gramage Caro et al …”

“…Given this situation, any classification of MEs with antineoplastic agents could be directly applied; thus, we adapted the ASHP classification into a new scheme, which was described by Gramage Caro et al . in 2011 . This classification has been used in our routine clinical practice for 5 years.…”

“…Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems have been shown to reduce MEs not only in our hospital but also in many other settings . The ASHP guidelines on preventing MEs with antineoplastic agents suggest that CPOE systems are superior to preprinted prescription forms because CPOE systems have additional features, such as the removal of interpretation/transcription errors, the availability of information on drug doses/schedules, the automatic calculation of medication doses, and alerts and error‐checking functions …”