Stage in medication process	Definition	Error types
Prescribing	Unambiguous prescription	Omission of drug name, drug formulation, route, dose, dosing regime, date, signature, length of treatment time where required
Dispensing	Dispensed medication is concordant with prescribed drug in electronic medication chart	Wrong drug, unordered dose, omission of dose, wrong dose, wrong drug formulation, contamination (ie, touching tablets without gloves), control of prescription (ie, controlling that only prescribed drugs are dispensed), ambiguous labeling of medication
Administering	The right medication to the right patient in the right way and at the right time	Wrong: dose, administration technique, route, time (±60 minutes), unordered drug, unordered dose, omission of dose, lack of identity control, wrong patient (one or more medications administered to the wrong patient), contamination, concordance with drug prescription
Discharge summaries	Eligible prescriptions in medical record are identical to prescriptions in discharge summaries	Discrepancy in: drug name, drug formulation, route, dose, regime, omission of drug, unordered drug

Note: Adapted with permission from Lisby M, Nielsen LP, Mainz J. Errors in the medication process: frequency, type, and potential clinical consequences. Int J Qual Health Care. 2005.

Abbreviation: CPOE, computerized physician order entry.