Extent of drug errors in mental health unknown
The scale, cause and outcome of medication errors in mental health care is not really known, according to recent research published in Quality
and Safety in Health Care (2006;15:409–13).
The authors screened 153 potentially relevant studies and carried out
what they believe to be the first systematic review of the nine studies
that met their inclusion criteria.
Error rates reported included 0.022 and 0.024 errors per prescribed item
and 2.67 and 5.5 errors per month. Most of the errors identified related
to the prescribing or administration of medicines, with far fewer relating
to dispensing. Only those studies (four) carried out by pharmacists detected
errors in clinical decision-making.
All nine of the studies reviewed were carried out in psychiatric hospitals,
with six focusing only on inpatients, so the authors conclude that the
extent of errors in other settings is unknown.
Moreover, none of the studies looked at the cause of errors, or were
outcome-based. Most studies were prospective, rather than retrospective.
The authors point out that some mental health services have limited pharmacy
support, and so the ability of pharmacists to detect and prevent prescribing
errors on a daily basis is hampered.
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Hospital Pharmacist