Medication Errors and Drug-Dispensing Systems in a Hospital Pharmacy

Medication dispensing errors at a public pediatric hospital

“…Literature suggests that the incidence of medication errors in pediatrics is twice or three times as high as in adults, and also that pediatric patients are at higher risk of death when compared to adults (7)(8)(9)(10)(11) . These errors also represent an important economic cost and measures to reduce and prevent them are necessary (2,10) .…”

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(4)(5)(6) .Literature suggests that the incidence of medication errors in pediatrics is twice or three times as high as in adults, and also that pediatric patients are at higher risk of death when compared to adults (7)(8)(9)(10)(11) . These errors also represent an important The pharmacy service is responsible for the safe and efficient use of medication in hospitals and plays an essential role in integrating the prescription, dispensing and administration processes and should have policies and procedures to prevent errors (4)(5)8) .

The rate of errors is considered one of the best indicators of quality of medication distribution systems and is still used to evaluate the safety of these systems (4,6,9) .

Some studies, published in the United States and England, showed an incidence of dispensing errors of about 10%, even in hospitals with advanced medication distribution systems, such as unit doses (7,11) .

A few studies were carried out in Brazil, specifically on medication dispensing processes, and presented high rates of errors, above 10% (5,8) .

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“…Literature suggests that the incidence of medication errors in pediatrics is twice or three times as high as in adults, and also that pediatric patients are at higher risk of death when compared to adults (7)(8)(9)(10)(11) . These errors also represent an important The pharmacy service is responsible for the safe and efficient use of medication in hospitals and plays an essential role in integrating the prescription, dispensing and administration processes and should have policies and procedures to prevent errors (4)(5)8) .…”

“…A few studies were carried out in Brazil, specifically on medication dispensing processes, and presented high rates of errors, above 10% (5,8) . In the pediatric area, especially in Brazil, no study was found on dispensing errors and, to date, their cause and epidemiology are unknown.…”

Terminologia de incidentes com medicamentos no contexto hospitalar

“…Essas mudanças refletem o reconhecimento de que os incidentes podem ser provocados, não somente pelo risco intrínseco do produto quando usado em condições apropriadas, mas, também, por falhas ou erros ocorridos durante o processo de utilização, caracterizando o uso inapropriado, que colocam em risco a segurança do paciente 1,2 .…”