A new study by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority found that the primary reason for medication errors is administrative error.
The study analyzed 800 instances of medication error, which occurs when staff members administer medication to the wrong patient after either ignoring proper identification procedure or incorrectly identifying a patient.
While administrative error accounted for 43 percent of medication error, transcription of medication orders to electronic health records wasn't far behind, at 38 percent of medication errors. Incorrect prescription accounted for only 12 percent of medication errors.
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