Table 3.
Descriptive epidemiology of medication errors
| Phase I - 2011 (n = 1054) % | Phase II - 2012 (n = 1105) % | Phase III - 2013 (n = 1854) % | P** | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location: | p < 0.001 | |||
| • Operating room | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.5 | |
| • Medical surgical unit | 73.1 | 71.7 | 62.0 | |
| • Pharmacy | 0.0 | 0.1 | 4.6 | |
| • Step Down Unit | 10.9 | 8.3 | 20.7 | |
| • Emergency Department | 0.0 | 2.6 | 0.0 | |
| • Intensive Care Unit | 14.7 | 15.5 | 11.2 | |
| Time: | p < 0.001 | |||
| • Morning (7 am to 1 pm) | 33.0 | 38.4 | 30.9 | |
| • Not identified | 13.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | |
| • Night (7 pm to 7 am) | 23.5 | 31.0 | 47.1 | |
| • Afternoon (1 pm to 7 pm) | 30.1 | 30.4 | 21.3 | |
| Order entry type: | p < 0.001 | |||
| • Electronic | 38.4 | 40.4 | 73.7 | |
| • Manual | 61.6 | 51.4 | 26.3 | |
| • Not Prescribed | 0.0 | 8.2 | 0.0 | |
| Error class: | p < 0.001 | |||
| • A | 29.2 | 14.1 | 2.2 | |
| • B | 25.8 | 34.8 | 65.1 | |
| • C | 35.7 | 35.2 | 27.5 | |
| • D | 8.0 | 13.8 | 4.6 | |
| • E, F, H, G or I | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.5 | |
| Error accountability: | p < 0.001 | |||
| • Nursing | 46.4 | 48.5 | 58.7 | |
| • Pharmacy | 19.4 | 20.1 | 26.9 | |
| • Physician | 32.4 | 22.9 | 10.8 | |
| • Other | 1.7 | 8.5 | 3.6 | |
| Phase of medication use where error occurred: | p < 0.001 | |||
| • Administering | 35.5 | 43.1 | 55.6 | |
| • Dispensing | 19.6 | 24.3 | 22.7 | |
| • Monitoring | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | |
| • Prescribing | 34.5 | 23.8 | 11.7 | |
| • Transcribing | 6.9 | 8.0 | 9.9 |
**Fisher’s exact test or Chi-square test