Medication errors could be greatly reduced if the patient was taught to:

1. Inform doctors of all allergies and any previous reactions to drugs

2. Ask the doctors and pharmacist about prescribed medications in layman terms

3. If English is not the first language always take an interpreter

4. Most important is to be active participant in the health care team. (Woolston, Chris)

Patients in the hospital can help avoid medication errors by:

1. When receiving a new medication, ask what it is and what is for, who ordered it and how often it is given.

2. Always make sure your ID bracelet is checked and state your name to the nurse.

3. Read the name on the IV bag or have someone read it to you.

4. If your pill looks different. Do not be afraid to question it.

Preventing Medication Errors at the Pharmacy

Many of the medication errors made in the pharmacy could be improved by having a strong relationship with the doctors and patient. (Christine Stencel, Media Relations Officer, Institute of Medicine, Board on Health Care Services, Report 2004 by the Committee on Identifying and Preventing Medication Errors)

New computerized systems for prescribing drugs will reduce medication errors. It eliminates the need for hand written prescriptions which can be misread. (National Coordinating Council for Medication Reporting and Prevention)

25% of all pharmacy errors occur because of drugs which have similar names. Drug naming should be standardized to reduce these errors. That means that all companies would be required to use the same terms. This is a recommendation by the Committee on Identifying and Preventiing Medication Errors. (Christine Stencel)

The use of abbreviation and dosage expressions have resulted in many medication errors in the pharmacy. They need to eliminated entirely to ensure safe dosing for the patients. (Ibid)

Pharmacists in the hospital should be involved with medication administration, patient education and prescribing whenever it is possible. (Ibid)

Strategies...

To reduce these errors the doctor should be current on the medications and consult with the pharmacist. Additionally the doctor should thoroughly evaluate and assess the patient's status prior to prescribing. The doctor should always be clear about the medication order and never use vague language or abbreviations (say "daily, not "q.d."). If the doctor's handwriting is poor then printing the prescription should be enforced.
Hospitals must provide sufficient staff to perform their duties safely. Medication errors occur when unreasonable workloads and working hours are exceeded. Hospitals should have policies and procedures in place to accommodate a safe work loads and hours.

The hospital should provide adequate environment for the safe preparation of drugs. Errors occur when the nurse has frequent interruptions.

The hospital needs to have a process for identifying and tracking medication orders. All medication errors identified should provide a basis for staff education in order to avoid it happening again.

The hospital should establish systems for medication error detection such as random sampling.

Hospitals need to develop an ongoing program of quality assurance and improvement in respect to medications. This should include a multi-disciplinary team that includes doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. The program should include monitoring the appropriate use of drugs that have a high incidence of adverse reactions. The pharmacist should take the lead role in the multi-disciplinary team. The pharmacist should lead efforts to detect, prevent and resolve medication problems that could lead to serious patient harm. The pharmacist should work with the team to make sure all medication practices within the hospital ensure positive patient outcomes.

Pharmacists in the hospital should have direct access to patient's information to ensure the safe prescribing and administration of medications. (ASHP Guidelines on Preventing Medication Errors in Hospitals)