Safe Prescribing Flashcards
1
Q
What is a medication error?
A
Any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm
2
Q
At which stage can a medication error occur?
A
Prescribing
Dispensing
Administration (most common)
3
Q
How common are surgical errors?
A
These account for half of the adverse events according among inpatients.
4
Q
What are common causes of adverse drug events?
A
- Surgery
- Drug treatment complications
- Therapeutic hishaps
- Diagnostic errors
5
Q
What are cognitive errors?
A
Incorrect diagnosis or medicine chosen - more likely to be preventable and more likely to result in permanent disability compared to technical errors.
6
Q
Which patients are at highest risk of adverse drug events?
A
- cardio, vascular or neuro surgery
- complex conditions
- A and E visits
- Older patients
- Looked after by inexperienced doctors
7
Q
Which stage of the medication process has most errors?
A
Administration/supply
8
Q
What are the common prescribing errors?
A
- wrong drug
wrong dose
wrong route
not giving medication
