Medication Error Rates investigates the pressing issue of medication errors within hospitals, highlighting their frequency, causes, and impact on patient safety and healthcare outcomes. These errors, which can occur during prescribing, dispensing, or administration, not only endanger patients but also impose a substantial financial burden on healthcare systems. The book emphasizes the necessity of understanding the factors that contribute to these errors, from workload and communication breakdowns to inadequate training and technology-related issues, to implement effective prevention strategies.
The book uniquely integrates diverse data sources, providing a comprehensive view of medication error trends in clinical settings. It connects concepts from pharmacology, healthcare administration, and human factors engineering to address systemic inadequacies and design safer systems. By analyzing specific error types, such as wrong dose administrations and drug-drug interaction oversights, the book pinpoints high-risk medications and patient groups. For instance, errors related to high-alert medications like insulin and anticoagulants can have particularly severe consequences.
Structured to systematically address medication safety, the book begins with fundamental concepts and error classification. It progresses through the root causes and specific error types, culminating in evidence-based prevention and mitigation strategies. These strategies include technological solutions, policy enhancements, and staff training programs, all aimed at improving medication management and reducing preventable medication errors.
