While medications are offered to patients around the world for treating their health problems, such a substantial use suggests that risks of harm could increase. It is essential to understand that the delivery of healthcare to patients is not an infallible process and errors do occur; moreover, they represent the seventh most common cause of death among patients (Moyen, Camire, & Stelfox, 2008).
A medication error refers to an incorrect decision made at any point of the medication use process, which consists of such stages as “prescription, transcription, preparation, dispensation, and administration” (Hussian & Kao, 2015, p. 92). Causes of such errors in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) settings can vary from factors related to health care professionals (lack of training, poor communication with patients, etc.) to factors associated with the overall work environment (lack of resources, confusing medication packaging, etc.). The majority of medication errors take place at the stage of administration (53%); however, mistakes also occur during prescription (17%), preparation of medication (14%), and transcription (11%) (Krahenbuhl-Melcher et al., 2007). Medication errors appear in around six percent of ICU episodes associated with medication use. Among adults diagnosed with critical conditions, the rate or errors in medication can vary from 1.2 to 947 mistakes per thousand patient ICU days (with a median of 106 mistakes per thousand patient ICU days) (Moyen et al., 2008). It is also important to mention that medication errors have adverse consequences, with a fifth of them being life threatening and almost a half problematic enough to require additional treatment.
With regards to the strategies implemented to reduce medication errors, different institutions had different approaches. For instance, the FDA required the use of bar codes and biological product labels placed on medication packaging so that healthcare providers could use scanning equipment. World Health Organization proposed such solutions as medication reviews, automated information systems, and multicomponent interventions.
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