Assessment and Categorization of Medication Errors in a Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Abstract

Background: Medication errors are known to be one of the most common type of error that occurs in healthcare, but similar data is limited for veterinary institutions. Pharmacists are not always present in veterinary hospitals therefore all staff members who are actively engaged in the dispensation of medications must be aware of the high incidence of medication errors that can occur.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to quantify the amount of and assess the types of medication errors that occur frequently within a veterinary teaching hospital (including both large and small animal patients), identify the specific medications that are most often involved in these errors, and determine if the inclusion of pharmacist chart review decreases the number of medication error incident reports.

Methods: Incident reports between July 2019 and March 2023 and pharmacist chart review documents from September 2022 through March 2023 were collected and reviewed. The total number of incidents were quantified, and incidents were categorized by type of error and by medication involved. The number of incidents were compared for the period before and after the implementation of pharmacist chart review.

Results: Between July 2019 and March 2023, medication errors accounted for 66% (n = 685) of all incident reports (n=1,031) and of those medication errors, 51% (n = 351 out of n = 685) were errors due to an incorrect dose. Gabapentin, methadone, and butorphanol were the most common medications cited in medication error incident reports. Incident reports containing medication errors reduced after the implementation of pharmacist chart review from 62% (n = 352) to 48% (n = 240) (p = 0.0504).

Conclusion: While not statistically significant, the results of this indicate that the inclusion of daily pharmacist chart review may lead to a decrease in medication error incident reports that were submitted, warranting further study.