Types and Frequencies of 409 Reported Medication Errors
| Type of Error | Percentage of Errors |
|---|---|
| OTC=over the counter. | |
| Note: Some reports included more than 1 error. | |
| Ordering medications | 28 |
| Dose prescribed is wrong | 13 |
| Drug prescribed is wrong | 5 |
| Failure to order needed medication | 4 |
| Wrong patient name on prescription | 4 |
| Contraindicated medication prescribed | 2 |
| Prescription telephoned to wrong pharmacy | <1 |
| Implementing orders | 24 |
| Drug label is incorrect | 8 |
| Dose dispensed is incorrect | 7 |
| Drug dispensed is incorrect | 5 |
| Medication is not dispensed | 3 |
| Failure to continue long-term medication | 1 |
| Receiving medications | 20 |
| Patient failed to take medication correctly | 18 |
| Patient continued medication after stop order | 1.5 |
| Different clinicians mixed up medications | <1 |
| Sample or OTC medication incorrectly supplied | <1 |
| Documenting | 24 |
| Medical record not up to date | 23 |
| Home medication list not up to date | 1 |
| Monitoring | 4 |
| Total | 100 |