Medication safety plays a critical role in patient safety, so it's imperative hospitals know which common errors to avoid. Here are the top 10 medication safety concerns from 2021, according to a report released Jan. 27 by the Institute of Safe Medication Practices.
- Mix-ups between the pediatric and adult formulations of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
- Mix-ups between COVID-19 vaccines or boosters and flu vaccines
- Administration of Epinephrine instead of a COVID-19 vaccine
- Dilution errors for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
- Errors and delays with hypertonic sodium chloride
- Errors with discontinued or paused infusions
- Infection transmission from shared glucometers, fingerstick devices and insulin pens
- Adverse glycemic event errors
- Absence of a medication safety officer at some organizations
- Reluctance to report errors