Medication errors in the brazilian media

Abstract

Aims: to identify and describe the news about medication errors that occurred in Brazil and were published in the Brazilian digital media.
Methods: exploratory research, with data collected in news from digital media in Brazil, between 2015 and 2019. The search for news about medication errors was carried out on Google®. The cases published in the media were described
according to the type and classification of the error, medication and professional involved in the occurrence of the error, characteristics of the patient who suffered
the error and place where the error occurred.
Results: of the 20 reported errors identified in the search, 11 cases of errors with death (55.0%), six cases of errors with harm (30.0%) and three cases of errors without harm (15.0%) were found. Of the 23 patients involved in the errors, 14 belonged to extreme age groups, nine pediatric patients (39.1%) and five geriatric patients (21.8%). As for the type of error, four reported cases involving prescription errors (20.0%), five reporting dispensing errors (25.0%), 10, administration errors (50.0%) and one involving concurrent dispensing and administration error (5.0%). Among the 11 cases of errors resulting in patient death, eight contained information about which medication was involved in the error, six of which were considered high alert medications.
Conclusions: the results of this study point to the need to implement improvements in health institutions in general - pharmacies, drugstores, hospitals, health centers - with regard to the prevention of medication errors. For this, initiatives involving medication systems with high effectiveness should be prioritized, especially in contexts of high-risk situations such as the use of high alert medications and care for patients at extremes of age.