Medical Error- Causes And Consequences

Introduction

A medical error is an avoidable unwanted result of medical therapy, whether visible or harmful to the patient. These medical errors can cause significant physical injury and even death in patients, regardless of whether they are the consequence of systemic disorders or simply human error. The healthcare provider and organization could suffer considerable financial, psychological, and emotional difficulties as a result of these avoidable errors. Let’s discuss the root causes of medical errors and the negative impacts of medication errors on patients, healthcare professionals, and hospitals through this article.

What Is a Medical Error?

Any incident that could have been avoided that results in improper medication use or patient harm, while the medication is under the control of a medical professional, patient, or consumer, is referred to as a medical error. These occurrences could be connected to medical practice, healthcare products, procedures, and systems, such as prescription writing, order communication, product labeling, packaging, nomenclature, compounding, dispensing, distribution, administration, education, monitoring, and use.

What Are the Different Types of Medication Errors?

The various types of medication errors include the following

• Prescription Errors: These can occur when a medicine is prescribed incorrectly based on the patient's allergies or other factors. Moreover, the incorrect dosage, shape, amount, route of administration, concentration, or rate of entry might be employed.

• Omission Errors: These mistakes occur when a pharmaceutical dose is missed and the subsequent dose is administered after it is scheduled.

• Wrong Time Errors: Incorrect time errors occur when a drug is administered earlier or later than expected.

• Improper Dosing Errors: Incorrect dosing errors occur when a patient receives more or less medication than is necessary to treat their condition.

• Wrong Dose Errors: These errors can occur when the right dosage was prescribed but the incorrect dose was administered.

• Fragmented Care Errors: Faults in fragmented care, where there is a breakdown in communication between the prescribing doctor and other medical staff.

What Are the Causes of Medical Errors?

The common root causes of medical errors are given below-

• Communication Problems: The main reason for the medical error is a breakdown in communication. These problems can occur via written or verbal communication between a doctor, nurse, member of the healthcare team, or a patient in a medical office or healthcare system. Medical errors are typically the result of poor communication.

• Error in Information Flow: In every healthcare environment, information flow is essential, especially among various service areas. When patients are transferred to another facility or released from one department to another, the relevant information does not follow them. This is known as insufficient information flow. Problems with inadequate information flow include those listed below:

  • A shortage of important information when it is required to influence prescribing decisions.

  • Inadequate communication of test results.

  • Poorly coordinated medication orders during care transition.

• Patient-Related Issues: These could consist of incorrect patient identification, preliminary patient assessment, a lack of consent, and inadequate patient education.

• Human Problems: Human issues arise when care standards, policies, methods, or procedures are not followed correctly or efficiently. Poor specimen labeling and documentation are two examples. Knowledge-based errors occur when persons lack the necessary knowledge to offer the necessary care at the time it is required.

• Technical Failures: Technical issues might occur with equipment, grafts, implants, or medical devices.

• Organizational Knowledge Transfer: These problems may include a need for more education for people who provide care and insufficient training. In most fields, knowledge transfer is crucial, especially when new hires or contract workers are involved.

• Patterns of Staffing and Workflow: Healthcare workers are put in settings where mistakes are more likely to be made, even when insufficient staffing may not be the direct cause of medical errors.

• Inadequate Policies: Generally, failures in the process of treatment can be related to poor documentation and non-existent, or inadequate processes.

What Are the Consequences or Impacts of Medical Errors?

The impact of medical errors on patients, healthcare professional, and hospitals are given below-

Patients and Their Families: The consequences of medical errors range from no noticeable symptoms to death. It can sometimes result in a new condition that is either transient or permanent, like itchiness, rashes, or skin deformity. Medication errors can cause serious patient injury or death, although being very rare. Losing a loved one is really painful. It is considerably more difficult for the friends and family of the deceased to accept their loss when they are aware that their death may have been avoided.

Medical Professionals: Physicians and nurses who deliver the wrong prescription to patients may have guilt, shame feelings, and self-doubt. The effects of this situation, which is referred to as the "second victim," can be lethal. Healthcare workers are embarrassed and afraid to admit their errors. Because patients or patients' families may file a personal injury lawsuit seeking negligence on the part of the healthcare provider. It may also increase the likelihood that the healthcare professional's license may be revoked, which could impact career advancement. In addition to the stress caused by medical errors, litigation can take emotional stress on healthcare personnel.

Hospitals: Patients or family members of patients may file a personal injury lawsuit not only against the health professional but also against the healthcare facility where the healthcare provider works. Legally, hospitals might have to pay significant legal fees and potential settlement costs. Additionally, hospitals might have to cover the lost productivity of the staff members who made the mistake and the higher cost of treating patients for unnecessary extended hospital stays.

Dealing with errors, investigation, litigation, and settlement may also be time-consuming. The management staff of the hospital may need to invest time and resources in looking into and revising policies to reduce future mistakes. The reputation and re-accreditation of the hospital could potentially be impacted by cumulative medical errors.

Conclusion

Medical errors still happen, though at a far lower incidence than in the past. The doctor, nurse, chemist, and other members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team must all be aware that medical errors can cause injury to patients and give rise to malpractice claims. Physicians must check their orders before submitting them. The pharmacist will check for interactions, and confirm the dosage, and agent choice. The nurse checks that the patient, drug, and dose are all correct before a drug is administered. At last, the only method to decrease medical errors is for every member of the interprofessional team to maintain constant awareness.