Medication error prevalence

For a number of reasons, including the difficulties inherent in proving a direct causal relationship between fatigue and adverse medical events and the lack of systems for reporting various types of adverse events and errors, few studies to date have examined the specific contribution of sleep deprivation to actual medical errors. Several recent studies, in attempting to unravel this relationship, have employed a number of different methodologies to assess prevalence, type, and risk factors for medical errors. For example, in one recent study of anesthetic... 

Alldred DP, Barber N, Buckle P, Carpenter J, Dickinson R, Franklin BD (2009) Care home use of medicines study (CHUMS). Medication errors in nursing and residential care homes-prevalence, consequences, causes and solutions. Report to the Patient Safety Research Portfolio, Dept of Health... 

The medicahon use system can be divided into five areas selecting, ordering, dispensing, administering and monitoring. Error potenhal is prevalent in each area. Some causes of errors transcend segments of the medicahon use system and occur in two or more phases. In particular, violations of rules and slips, or memory lapses, are seen in each of the five areas of the medication use system. 

Marino B L, Reinhardt K, Eichelberger W J, Steingard R (2000). Prevalence of errors in a pediatric hospital medication system Implication for error proofing. Outcomes Manag Nurs Pract 4 129—135. 

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