Question | Answer |
assumption error | an error that occurs when an essential piece of information cannot be verified and is guessed or presumed |
capture error | an error that occurs when focus on a task is diverted elsewhere and therefore the error goes undetected |
electronic medication administration record (eMAR) | a computerized patient medical record used to minimize medication errors |
extra dose error | an error in which more doses are received by a patient than were prescribed by the physician |
human failure | an error generated by failure that occurs at an individual level |
Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) | a nonprofit healthcare agency whose primary mission is to understand the causes of medication errors and to provide time-critical error reduction strategies to the healthcare community, policymakers, and the public |
medical error | any circumstance, action, inaction, or decision related to health care that contributes to an unintended health result |
medication error | any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the health care professional, patient, or consumer |
Medication Error Reporting Program (ISMP MERP) | a program designed to allow healthcare professionals to report medication errors directly to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) |
MEDMARX | an Internet-based program of the USP for use by hospitals and healthcare systems for documenting, tracking, and identifying trends for adverse events and medication errors |
noncompliance | failure to take therapy as the physician instructs; also called nonadherence |
omission error | an error in which a prescribed dose is not given |
organizational failure | an error generated by failure of organizational rules, policies, or procedures |
prn | the abbreviation for a common Latin phrase, pro re nata, or “in the circumstances.” This is commonly used to direct a patient to take medication on an as-needed basis rather than a routinely scheduled dosage. |
product line extension | a marketing strategy by which a brand name product is brought to market with different combinations of active ingredients and different indications leading to potential consumer errors |
root-cause analysis | a logical and systematic process used to help identify what, how, and why something happened to prevent recurrence |
selection error | an error that occurs when two or more options exist and the incorrect option is chosen |
sentinel event | an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury or the potential for such events to occur |
technical failure | an error generated by failure of equipment |
wrong dosage form error | an error in which the dosage form or formulation is not the accepted interpretation of the physician order |
wrong dose error | an error in which the dose is either above or below the correct dose by more than 5% |
wrong time error | a medication error in which a drug is given 30 minutes or more before or after it was prescribed, up to the time of the next dose, not including as needed orders |