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Medication Errors, Inaccuracies, Oversight, Faults And Dosage Miscalculations | LASA DRUGS ( Look Alike, Sound Alike )

 

 

Medication error that was made but was caught before reaching the patient; such events have also been termed as a “ near miss ” medication error.


Factors contributing to medication errors:

  • Human related

  • System related

  • Medication related


Human related:


Provider

Patient

  • Overworked

  • In a hurry

  • Under - trained

  • Do not understand the medication/use

  • Distraced 

  • Health literacy level

  • Stressed 




System related factors:

  • Lack of communication

  • Poor work flow

  • Disorganized workplace

  • Lack of supervision


Medication related errors:

  • Multiple dosage forms and strengths

THE 6 - R’s:

  • Right drug

  • Right route

  • Right time

  • Right dose

  • Right patient

  • Right dosage form


Other factors are:

  • Incorrect prescriptions

  • Illegible handwriting

  • Drug allergy not identified

  • Irrational combinations

     

( is this readable at all ? )

  • Dosage miscalculations

  • Dispensing incorrect dosage strength

  • Failure to council the patient

  • Miscalculation of a dose


LASA DRUGS

LOOK ALIKE, SOUND ALIKE

( one of the biggest reasons for medication errors )


Look alike, sound alike medication name examples:

Losec ( Omeprazole )

Lasix ( Frusemide )

Ephedrine

Epinephrine

Clonazepam

Clonopam, Ozepam



Medication error is also tied to administration error.

Administration error includes wrong patients, wrong route, wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong method, wrong time.


Medication error is also tied to transcription error.

Several sheets of paper and stages from physicians’ order to drug delivery may cause confusion and add to the possibility of transcription errors.




Comments

  1. Medication errors should be well avoided, its a good effort in making the things understandable and will help in reducing the same

    ReplyDelete

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