Medication errors in outpatient care in Colombia, 2005-2013.
BACKGROUND
Medication errors outside the hospital have been poorly studied despite representing an important threat to patient safety.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the characteristics of medication errors in outpatient dispensing pharmacists reported in a pharmaco-surveillance system between 2005 and 2013 in Colombia.


METHODS
We conducted a descriptive study by reviewing and categorizing medication error reports from outpatient pharmacy services to a national medication dispensing company between January, 2005 and September, 2013. Variables considered included: process involved (administration, dispensing, prescription and transcription), wrong drug, time delay for the report, error type, cause and severity. The analysis was conducted in the SPSS® software, version 22.0.


RESULTS
A total of 14,873 medication errors were reviewed, of which 67.2% in fact occurred, 15.5% reached the patient and 0.7% caused harm. Administration (OR=93.61, CI 95%: 48.510-180.655, p<0.001), dispensing (OR=21.58, CI 95%: 16.139-28.870, p<0.001), transcription errors (OR=5.64; CI 95%: 3.488-9.142, p<0.001), medicines for sensory organs (OR=2.04, CI 95%: 1.519-2.756, p<0.001), anti-infective drugs for systemic use (OR=1.99, CI 95%: 1.574-2.525, p0.001), confusion generated with the name of the drug (OR=1.28, CI 95%: 1.051-1.560, p=0.014), and trouble interpreting prescriptions (OR=1.32, CI 95%: 1.037-1.702, p=0.025) increased the risk for error reaching the patient.


CONCLUSIONS
It is necessary to develop surveillance systems for medication errors in ambulatory care, focusing on the prescription, transcription and dispensation processes. Special strategies are needed for the prevention of medication errors related to anti-infective drugs.
Grupo de Investigación en Farmacoepidemiología y Farmacovigilancia, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira-Audifarma, S. A., Pereira, Colombia. machado@utp.edu.co.
Jorge E
JE
Machado-Alba
Juan Carlos
JC
Moncada
Paula Andrea
PA
Moreno-Gutiérrez
D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003105:Colombia; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration*
D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations
Colombia; Medication errors; adverse drug reaction reporting systems; inappropriate prescribing; pharmaco-surveillance