Associated factors and evaluation of interventional medication errors among inpatients in a hospital setting in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to determine factors associated with medication errors, and evaluate the results of interventions to reduce medication errors in inpatients treatment at Hoan My Minh Hai General Hospital, Vietnam. Methods: A single-blind, before-and-after and interventional study was conducted on 442 medical records of inpatients in the pre-intervention stage and 442 medical records of inpatients in the post-intervention stage at the Department of Pediatrics, Department of General Internal Medicine, Department of Cardiology - Endocrinology, Department of Surgery, Department of Obstetrics of Hoan My Minh Hai General Hospital from July 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022. Data were collected and processed using Excel 2016 and SPSS 26.0 software. Results: The medication errors rate decreased from 7.70% in the pre-intervention stage to 5.70% in the post-intervention stage, the difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). Medication errors before intervention occurred most often in the preparation and implementation stage (2.04%), after the intervention, the rate decreased to 1.81%. The replication stage had a high rate of medication errors (2.04%), after the intervention it decreased to 1.81%. The most common medication errors before intervention were wrong doses and wrong drugs (1.58%), after intervention, wrong dose errors rate decreased to 1.36%, the rate of wrong drug errors rate decreased to 1.13%. The total number of diseases ≥2 was significantly related to the occurrence of medication errors (p<0.05). Conclusion: Medication errors could occur at different stages of medication use processes. Pharmacist interventions appear to decrease the incidence of medication errors. (AU)