A Canadian study assessing the incidence of medication errors in a pediatric emergency department found prescribing errors in 10.1% of charts reviewed and administration errors in 3.9%. The authors cited earlier work by others indicating that preventable errors are significantly more common in the emergency department than in other hospital departments. This heightened risk in the emergency department is thought to result from the need for medications to be given urgently, which means that many drugs are kept in ward stock. In addition, there is generally no pharmacist review of medication orders originating in the emergency department; patients seen in the emergency department may have only a brief, focused encounter with the physician and nurse before medications are ordered and given; a complete medical and drug history may not be available; physicians and nurses are often caring for several patients at the same time in an environment where interruptions are common; and use of high-alert drugs is common.
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