One of the databases that we searched was not publically available, but our own local database of medication error studies.
Finally, SG hand-searched the reference lists of all included articles and searched our research team's local database of medication error studies in order to identify any further studies informing the development, reliability, or validity of the severity assessment tools identified.
Because pharmacists are critically responsible for optimisation of drug therapy and prevention of medication errors, a study on safety culture of pharmacists in different settings will provide an insight into their perception and assist in identifying specific areas for improvement.
Some authors recommended that studies on medication errors should report both the error rates with and without timing errors [ 29, 34].
Explore the perceived barriers encountered by pharmacists in their medication error prevention activities The study took place at Korle Bu Teaching hospital which is a 2000 bed tertiary teaching hospital located in the capital city of Ghana.
For example, medication errors can occur at any stage of the medication process (prescription, delivery, dispensing, administration, and monitoring), Medication error rates varied in the studies according to the definitions used, the medication process being evaluated, and the method of reporting.
These clinical interventions have been used to reduce the risk of medication errors in previous studies.
Prescribing errors made up 70% of medication errors in two studies carried out by the American Academy of Family Physicians and National Research Network in primary care clinics; according to Kuo et al. [ 6], electronic tools could have prevented at least half of these errors.
The most common stage of medication error was reported in one study to be the prescribing stage, which accounted for 56% of errors detected [ 1].
Electronic prescribing (EP) with decision support has been shown to reduce the medication error rate [ 2], but no studies could be found in critical care.
For example, computerized physician order entry with decision support reduced the serious medication error rate by 55% in one study[ 6], and some data suggest that electronic medical records can provide a positive return on investment[ 7, 8].
