Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR
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J Intellect Disabil Res · Jul 2007
Drug administration errors in an institution for individuals with intellectual disability: an observational study.
Medication errors can result in harm, unless barriers to prevent them are present. Drug administration errors are less likely to be prevented, because they occur in the last stage of the drug distribution process. This is especially the case in non-alert patients, as patients often form the final barrier to prevention of errors. Therefore, a study was set up aimed at identifying the frequency of drug administration errors and determinants for these errors in an institution for individuals with intellectual disability (ID). ⋯ This study shows that administration errors in an institution for individuals with ID are common and that they are not formally reported to the voluntary reporting system. Furthermore, it identified some determinants that may be the focus for future improvements aimed to reduce error frequency.