Mistakes, negligence, or miscalculations committed in the process of prescribing and administering a drug to a patient, or in monitoring the effects of a drug. Medication errors can involve the type of drug or its dosage, the prescription, the method of dispensing, or the lack of communication between health professionals.
A failure of some kind in the process of medication administration. The process begins when the physician writes a medication order. It is often transcribed (perhaps by a clerk or secretary), then communicated to the hospital pharmacy, where the prescription is filled and the medication sent back to the patient care unit. A nurse (or other qualified professional) gives the medication to the patient, observing the “5 R’s” of medication administration: (1) right medication, (2) right dosage, (3) right patient, (4) right time, and (5) right route of administration (for example, oral, intravenous, or intramuscular).
Administering the wrong medicine, administering an incorrect dose of a medicine, failing to administer a prescribed medicine, or administering the medicine either at the incorrect time or via the incorrect route. Every effort should be made to prevent errors in medication, many of which are detailed in the table. If an error occurs, it should be reported immediately (following agency protocols). Appropriate patient protection procedures should be implemented.