Recommendations for Reducing Serious Medication Errors

Are you trying to avoid serious medication errors?

• ask the patient what medications he or she is taking and the usual dosages?

• check for allergies?

• administer a test dose if an immediate reaction is possible?

• control access to potentially hazardous medications?

• clearly label all medications?

• avoid abbreviations in prescriptions and labels and write out numbers unambiguously?

• follow all mixing and dilution instructions precisely?

• void a prescription if an error occurs rather than overwrite?

• perform complex dilutions or reconstitutions in the pharmacy?

• completely mix all preparations that are diluted or reconstituted?

• never put a medication into a bottle labeled with the name of a different medication?

• visually inspect a liquid medication before it is administered?

• there is a drug with a similar name?

• the dose is higher or lower than normal or just odd?

• a calculation is involved?

• the handwriting legibility of the prescription was in question?

• diluting or mixing was involved?

• there are special storage instructions?

• the medication is associated with serious reactions?

• there is an emergency?