• Rodney W Hicks and Shawn C Becker.
• United States Pharmacopeia, Center for the Advancement of Patient Safety, Rockville, MD 20852-1790, USA. RH@usp.org
• J Infus Nurs. 2006 Jan 1; 29 (1): 20-7.

AbstractMedication errors can be harmful, especially if they involve the intravenous (IV) route of administration. A mixed-methodology study using a 5-year review of 73,769 IV-related medication errors from a national medication error reporting program indicates that between 3% and 5% of these errors were harmful. The leading type of error was omission, and the leading cause of error involved clinician performance deficit. Using content analysis, three themes-product shortage, calculation errors, and tubing interconnectivity-emerge and appear to predispose patients to harm. Nurses often participate in IV therapy, and these findings have implications for practice and patient safety. Voluntary medication error-reporting programs afford an opportunity to improve patient care and to further understanding about the nature of IV-related medication errors.

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