Prescription Errors

Medication errors are among the most common medical errors, causing injury and even death. Types of hospital medication errors include:

• Miscommunication of drug orders (e.g., confusion over drugs with similar names, confusion based on prescription labeling)
• Inappropriate labeling during packaging
• Lack of proper drug information
• Incomplete collection of patient information

Medication errors can occur throughout the medical profession within the process of providing prescription or non-prescription drugs to patients. The physician has the responsibility of staying knowledgeable about the medications he or she is prescribing. A pharmacist is expected to dispense the correct drug in correct doses. Nurses must know enough about medications to identify inaccurate prescriptions or dangerous drug combinations.

Although the medical professional is regarded for its quality, medication errors will inevitably occur.