Patient Safety: Strategies for Detection and Prevention of Medication Errors in an Argentinian Hospital

Safety is a fundamental principle of patient care and a critical component of quality management. Medication errors are the most common type of errors in health care, leading to increased morbidity, mortality and economic burden to health services. The objective of the present study was to determine the impact of intervention strategies implemented for detection and prevention of medication errors during the use of medications in a public Hospital of Argentina. An evaluative research was made, by comparison of medication errors between two periods: pre and post interventions in the processes of prescription, dispensing and administration of medicines. Errors were characterized by Ruiz Jarabo classification. After the application of the intervention strategies the total number of errors decreased 41.63%; with 4.66 errors/patient (39.55% reduction) and 69.16 errors/100 patients-day (30.06% reduction). Two contributing factors rates fell: communication system deficiency from 77.40 to 47.20% and Medication distribution system from 67.94 to 33.97%. The intervention strategies applied reached a reduction in number of errors and the application of quality management tools allowed synergic interaction between the health care team.