Estudio de incidencia de los errores de medicación en los procesos de utilización del medicamento: prescripción, transcripción, validación, preparación, dispensación y administración en el ámbito hospitalario / Incident study of medication errors in drug use processes: prescription, transcription, validation, preparation, dispensing and administering in the hospital environment

Objetivo: Determinar la incidencia global y por etapas de los errores de medicación en 6 hospitales de Cataluña, así como los tipos de error y las consecuencias. Método: Diseño prospectivo, cuya variable global es el error de medicación. Se han excluido los errores potenciales. En cada hospital se estudiaron los ingresados en 2 unidades hasta 300 pacientes y se observaron 1.500 administraciones. Se aplicó la taxonomía del National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention. El error de prescripción se detectó mediante la revisión de las prescripciones, en la que se comprobaron paciente, medicamento, adherencia a protocolos, interacciones, contraindicaciones, omisión, duplicidad terapéutica, dosis, frecuencia, vía y falta de seguimiento. En la transcripción/validación se comprobó la coincidencia con la orden médica original. En la dispensación, antes de enviar los carros de unidosis, se revisó el contenido de los cajetines, y se contrastó con el listado generado informáticamente. En planta, los observadores comprobaron transcripción, preparación y administración. En todos los procesos se registraron los datos en una hoja específica. La concordancia entre revisores fue moderada (kappa = 0,525). Resultados: Se detectaron 16,94 errores por 100 pacientes-día y 0,98 por paciente: 16 % en prescripción, 27 % en transcripción/validación, 48 % en dispensación y 9 % en administración. El 84,47 % pertenecía a la categoría B (no se alcanzó al paciente), y menos del 0,5 % causaron daño. La población, de 65 años de media, se distribuyó en una relación varón/mujer de 60/40. Los principales grupos terapéuticos fueron: agentes contra la úlcera péptica y el reflujo gastroesofágico, antitrombóticos, y otros analgésicos y antipiréticos, en los que predominaba la forma farmacéutica (..) (AU)

Objective: To determine both the global Incident, and the Incident for stages of medication errors in six Catalonian hospitals, the types of error and the consequences. Method: A prospective design, with the global variable of the medication error. Potential errors have been excluded. The patients admitted to each hospital were studied in 2 groups of up to 300 patients and 1,500 administrations were observed. The NCCMERP taxonomy was applied. The prescription error was detected through the review of prescriptions, checking the patient, medication, adherence to protocols, interactions, contraindications, omission, duplicated therapy, doses, frequency, method, and lack of follow-up. During the transcription/validation, it was verified that the prescription matched the original order. In the dispensing process, the content of the drawers was checked, comparing it to the computer generated list, before sending out the single dose trolley. The transcription, preparation and administration were observed on the wards. The information for all the procedures was registered in a specific data sheet. There was moderate concordance amongst the inspectors (kappa = 0.525). Results: 16.94 errors were detected per 100 patients-day and 0.98 errors per patient: 16 % in prescription, 27 % in transcription/validation, 48 % in dispensing, and 9 % in administration. 84.47 % were category B errors (they did not reach the patient), and < 0.5 % of the errors were harmful. The population, with an average age of 65, had a male/female ratio of 60/40. The principal therapeutic groups were: agents against peptic ulcer and GERD, antithrombotic agents, and other analgesics and antipyretics, (..) (AU)

[Incident study of medication errors in drug use processes: prescription, transcription, validation, preparation, dispensing and administering in the hospital environment]. / Estudio de incidencia de los errores de medicación en los procesos de utilización del medicamento: prescripción, transcripción, validación, preparación, dispensación y administración en el ámbito hospitalario.

OBJECTIVE: To determine both the global Incident, and the Incident for stages of medication errors in six Catalonian hospitals, the types of error and the consequences. METHOD: A prospective design, with the global variable of the medication error. Potential errors have been excluded. The patients admitted to each hospital were studied in 2 groups of up to 300 patients and 1,500 administrations were observed. The NCCMERP taxonomy was applied. The prescription error was detected through the review of prescriptions, checking the patient, medication, adherence to protocols, interactions, contraindications, omission, duplicated therapy, doses, frequency, method, and lack of follow-up. During the transcription/validation, it was verified that the prescription matched the original order. In the dispensing process, the content of the drawers was checked, comparing it to the computer generated list, before sending out the single dose trolley. The transcription, preparation and administration were observed on the wards. The information for all the procedures was registered in a specific data sheet. There was moderate concordance amongst the inspectors (kappa = 0.525). RESULTS: 16.94 errors were detected per 100 patients-day and 0.98 errors per patient: 16 % in prescription, 27 % in transcription/validation, 48 % in dispensing, and 9 % in administration. 84.47 % were category B errors (they did not reach the patient), and < 0.5 % of the errors were harmful. The population, with an average age of 65, had a male/female ratio of 60/40. The principal therapeutic groups were: agents against peptic ulcer and GERD, antithrombotic agents, and other analgesics and antipyretics, principally in a solid oral drug form (58 %). The medications per patient-day were 5.5 and the units of medication were on average 11.21, varying greatly among the institutions. The adjustment of 10 units made the results more uniform. In all the stages, omission was the most frequent error. DISCUSSION: The different methods used and different areas of the investigations make comparisons difficult. This is evident in the harmful errors, the proportion of which is affected by the detection procedure. The number of mistakes avoided during the execution of this project demonstrates the need to improve the planning of the work systems and to establish safety measures.