risks, patient morbidity attributable to
medication errors or administration is not an uncommon occurrence.
Interestingly, although a large number of malpractice claims are caused
by medication errors,[1] errors that result in litigation represent less
than 10% of all prescribing errors when medical records are
examined.[2,3] About 10% of all hospital admissions may result from
inadequate compliance with medication prescriptions.[4] Although some
adverse events result from drug interactions, a large percentage are
attributable to prescribing incorrect doses[5] or failing to communicate
information between physicians and patients.[6]
In a typical inpatient hospital environment, checks and balances are in
place to prevent most of the common drug-prescribing errors. For
example, a prescriber initiates medication orders after careful
consideration of the patient's status, pertinent laboratory data,
existing drug therapy, and the consensus of the health care team. Most
of the time, orders are then reviewed by a nurse, who verifies their
accuracy and notifies the house staff if corrections need to be made. If
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