Avoiding medication errors-what is the best evidenced based practice

Abstract

Introduction: Medication errors are costly and a threat to patient safety. This article aims to review practices, with a special emphasis on technological interventions employed to reduce medication errors and to discuss the value of these different applications. Materials and methods: A literature review was conducted using PubMed to find articles whose title and abstract indicated that the articles' content addressed technological interventions to minimize medication errors. Bibliographies of resulting articles were also reviewed and selected for discussion. Results and discussion: After a qualitative analysis by two reviewers, 70 articles were selected for review and discussion. Computerized physician order entry, is widely used and is useful in minimizing many errors in the 'Medication Use Process'. Clinical decision support systems, personal digital assistants and mobile clinical assistants have shown to be very effective in minimizing prescribing errors. Using machines instead of man as in automated dispensing machines, bar coding, robotic dispensing and 'Smart' devices have been tried experimentally to contain drug dispensing and drug administration errors. Conclusions: There is evidence that technological interventions have contributed to minimize medication errors, but their usability, cost benefits and safety need to be further evaluated.