Medication error in the provision of healthcare services

A Serious Public Health Concern

Abstract

Medication errors are the most common and widespread medical adverse event that occurs in healthcare settings and can lead to increased patient morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. The availability of a wide range of over-the-counter and prescribed medications in the healthcare market, which the general public seems to use on a frequent basis to treat their health complications, has rapidly increased the chances of medication errors. Furthermore, the medication chain has several steps that require different people, and errors can occur at different stages in patient care, from ordering the medication to the time the patient is administered the drug. So each stage of the medication chain is exposed to risks that could result in medication errors. Thereby, medication errors prompt patient harm, preclude immediate discharges, and enhance healthcare costs. As a result, it is important to set up a medication safety culture that can light up in the context of effectively putting strategies into action, and everyone's collaboration and participation to adhering to medication safety strategy can improve patient safety. This review of the literature aims to provide a concept of medication errors, explore the pattern of errors, causes and consequences of errors, and error-related adverse events in all types of healthcare settings, risk factors for medication errors, and strategies to avoid and minimize medication errors.