Clinical Pharmacology- Safe prescribing Flashcards
1
Q
What is a mediation error?
A
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, patient, or consumer.
2
Q
How many of the adverse events occurring among inpatients resulted from surgery?
A
About half
3
Q
What are other causes of errors?
A
- complications from drug treatment
- therapeutic mishaps
- diagnostic errors
4
Q
Which patients are most at risk of medication errors?
A
- Those undergoing cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, or neurosurgery
- Those with complex conditions
- Those in the emergency room
- Those looked after by inexperienced doctors
- Older patients
5
Q
What are people related causes of medication errors?
A
- Fatigue: Sleep deprivation
- Hunger: Long lapses between food/drink
- Concentration: Lapses
- Stress: Loss of control/cutting corners
- Distraction
- Lack of training
- Lack of access to information (not timely)
- Other factors: Alcohol, drugs & illness
6
Q
What are common prescribing errors?
A
- Wrong drug (e.g. drugs that sound alike)
- Wrong dose
- Inappropriate Units
- Poor/illegible prescriptions
- Failure to take account of drug interactions
- Omission
- Wrong route/multiple routes (IV/SC?PO)
- Calculation errors (important in Paediatrics)
- Poor cross referencing
- Infusions with not enough details of diluent, rate etc. Poor cross-referencing between charts
- Once weekly drugs
- Multiple dose changes
7
Q
What are the 5 R’s that help to prevent medication errors?
A
- Right Patient
- Right Drug
- Right Dose
- Right Route
- Right Time
