Tips and resources to prevent medical errors

By Brian Ward

Medical error prevention is a complex problem without a simple “one-size-fits-all” solution. However, some things that healthcare organizations can do are:

• Using multiple forms of patient identification, such as patient name as well as date of birth
• Including patient photos in the EMR, though organizations will need to make a policy to ensure effectiveness
• Searching for points of failure and workarounds while tracing the process of ordering a medication all the way to it being delivered to the patient
• Reviewing and revising your medication management policies and procedures to align with the most recent guidance from trusted sources like the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) and ECRI
• Creating a culture of safety that rewards people for reporting errors and near-misses and looks for solutions, rather than focusing on punishment
• Using medication management tools and checklists
• Making sure your EMR and associated technology is user-friendly and designed to eliminate or mitigate errors
• Reducing or eliminating distractions

If you’re looking for resources, guidelines, and tools for medical error prevention, says Brad Truax, MD, principal consultant of the Truax Group, he recommends visiting the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The organization has many free tools and resources, including lists of abbreviations, symbols, and dose designations that clinicians often interpret incorrectly; drug names that practitioners often confuse (look-alike and sound-alike); and high-alert medications in acute care settings, plus many more. You can also download a Medication Administration Distraction Observation Sheet from the British Medical Journal by clicking on this link.