Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 55, Issue 6 , Pages 522-526 , June 2010

A Prospective Observational Study of Medication Errors in a Tertiary Care Emergency Department

  • Asad E. Patanwala, PharmD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
    • ,
  • Terri L. Warholak, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
    • ,
  • Arthur B. Sanders, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
    • ,
  • Brian L. Erstad, PharmD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress for correspondence: Brian L. Erstad, PharmD, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, 1295 N Martin, PO Box 210202, Tucson, AZ 85721-0207; 520-694-5600, fax 520-626-7355

Received 23 October 2009 ,Revised 18 November 2009 ,Accepted 11 December 2009.

References 

  1. Burstin H. “Crossing the quality chasm” in emergency medicine. Acad Emerg Med. 2002;9:1074–1077
  2. Peth HA. Medication errors in the emergency department: a systems approach to minimizing risk. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2003;21:141–158
  3. Brown M. Medication safety issues in the emergency department. Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am. 2005;17:65–69xi
  4. Cobaugh DJ, Schneider SM. Medication use in the emergency department: why are we placing patients at risk?. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2005;62:1832–1833
  5. Hicks RW, Camp S United States Pharmacopeia. Medication errors in emergency department settings. http://www.usp.org/hqi/patientSafety/resources/posters/posterEmergencyDept.htmlAccessed July 10, 2009
  6. Buckley MS, Erstad BL, Kopp BJ, et al. Direct observation approach for detecting medication errors and adverse drug events in a pediatric intensive care unit. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2007;8:145–152
  7. Kopp BJ, Erstad BL, Allen ME, et al. Medication errors and adverse drug events in an intensive care unit: direct observation approach for detection. Crit Care Med. 2006;34:415–425
  8. National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention. Medication error index. http://www.nccmerp.org/medErrorCatIndex.htmlAccessed May 4, 2007
  9. American College of Emergency Physicians. Emergency department crowding: high-impact solutions (ACEP Taskforce report on boarding). http://www.acep.org/workarea/downloadasset.aspx?id=37960Accessed April 15, 2008
  10. Pedersen CA, Schneider PJ, Scheckelhoff DJ. ASHP national survey of pharmacy practice in hospital settings: dispensing and administration—2008. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2009;66:926–946

 Please see page 523 for the Editor's Capsule Summary of this article.

 Supervising editor: Robert L. Wears, MD, MS

 Author contributions: AEP, TLW, ABS, and BLE conceived and designed the study. AEP performed all data collection. AEP and BLE conducted data analysis and drafted the article. TLW and ABS contributed substantially to its revision. AEP takes responsibility for the paper as a whole.

 Funding and support: By Annals policy, all authors are required to disclose any and all commercial, financial, and other relationships in any way related to the subject of this article that might create any potential conflict of interest. See the Manuscript Submission Agreement in this issue for examples of specific conflicts covered by this statement. This research was supported by a junior investigator grant from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Foundation.

 Reprints not available from the authors.

 Publication date: Available online January 15, 2010.

PII: S0196-0644(09)01837-X

doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2009.12.017

Annals of Emergency Medicine
Volume 55, Issue 6 , Pages 522-526 , June 2010

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