Table 3.

Classification of medication administration errors by severity according to NCCMERP index (n = 910).

Category	Degree of error	Definition	Frequency	%
A	No error	Circumstances or events that have the capacity to cause error	627	68.9
B	Error but no harm	An error occurred but the error did not reach the patient	23	2.5
C	Error but no harm	An error occurred that reached the patient but did not cause patient harm	123	13.5
D	Error but no harm	An error occurred that reached the patient and required monitoring to confirm that it resulted in no harm to the patient and/or required intervention to preclude harm	137	15.0
E	Error, harm	An error occurred that may have contributed to or resulted in temporary harm to the patient and required intervention	0	0
F	Error, harm	An error occurred that may have contributed to or resulted in temporary harm to the patient and required initial or prolonged intervention	0	0
G	Error, harm	An error occurred that may have contributed to or resulted in permanent harm to the patient	0	0
H	Error, harm	An error occurred that required intervention necessary to sustain life	0	0
I	Error, death	An error occurred that may have contributed to or resulted in the patient's death.	0	0