A survey of medication error prevalence in a Brazilian health center

J Nurs Care Qual. 2013 Jan-Mar;28(1):92-7. doi: 10.1097/NCQ.0b013e3182641b1b.

Abstract

Medication error is a frequent adverse event in health care. In this study, we checked each medication dose in 744 medical orders and identified a prevalence rate of 0.53 medication errors per medical order. The highest prevalence was in the critical care unit (0.98), and the most frequent type was dose omission (53%). The results were published bimonthly for health care professionals, with an improvement recommendation list to minimize medication errors and increase patient safety.

MeSH terms

  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Health Care Surveys*
  • Hospitals, Urban / standards
  • Hospitals, Urban / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Medical Audit / statistics & numerical data
  • Medication Errors / statistics & numerical data*
  • Nursing Staff, Hospital / standards
  • Nursing Staff, Hospital / statistics & numerical data
  • Prevalence
  • Quality of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
  • Retrospective Studies