Background:

Most studies of medication errors are focused only on finding global prevalence by patients, by phases or according to a certain group of medication. It’s just a partial view of the problem. To analyze and compare the prevalence of errors in prescription, transcription and administration, and their clinical repercussions in different pharmacological groups in a third-level hospital.

Methods:

Prospective inclusion study with direct observation disguised as medication administration and comparison with prescriptions and transcriptions at history clinical. The ME and its clinical effects were classified by expert consensus. We calculated the different error rates and their repercussions with their confidence intervals at 95%. Then we compared using Chi-square tests.

Results:

We studied 5,578 prescribed drugs and we observed the administration of 1,879 doses. A total of 117 different pharmacological groups were found, although 50.1% of the prescriptions belonged to only 9 types. We found heparins had a lower prevalence of errors in prescription and transcription and aspirin also had a lower prevalence of prescription errors. On the opposite side, a greater number of errors were obtained in transcription of Paracetamol, Metamizole and Laxatives and a prevalence of errors in the administration phase superior to rest in Paracetamol and in Proton Pump Inhibitors. The impact of medication error increased as medication process progressed, being similar between groups in prescription. In transcription, Heparins and Corticosteroids presented more serious errors. In administration, medication error are more serious for Diuretics and Statins (p<0.05).

Conclusions:

Drugs considered potentially dangerous present fewer errors (Heparins, Corticoids), but more serious. Drugs with the highest prevalence of errors were Paracetamol and Inhibitors of proton pump but had a lower impact.

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