Medication errors

Rebalancing Board Q&A on dispensing error defence

The Rebalancing Medicines Legislation and Pharmacy Regulation Programme Board has provided an extensive Q&A on the new legal defence for inadvertent dispensing errors.…

PDA directs concerns about dispensing error decriminalisation legislation to pharmacy minister

The Pharmacists’ Defence Association has asked pharmacy minister Steve Brine for a meeting to discuss that the risk of a criminal prosecution for an inadvertent dispensing error still remains.…

Pharmacist leads project to reduce injection errors

An academic pharmacist is hoping to reduce the rate of injection errors by developing improved written guidance for nursing staff.…

Using technology to tackle medication errors

An estimated 237 million medication errors occur in England every year. Although three-quarters of these errors are unlikely to result in harm, avoidable adverse drug reactions are directly responsible for the deaths of 712 patients every year, and a contributory factor in the deaths of thousands mo…

Pharmacy sector says transparency is key as Jeremy Hunt tackles drug errors

The public can be confident that pharmacists and doctors “already work collaboratively to make sure the use of powerful prescription medicines is safe and effective”.…

New dispensing error decriminalisation legislation due by April 2018

New legislation to protect community pharmacists from prosecution over dispensing errors has been signed into law by the Privy Council.…

Considering human factors and developing systems-thinking behaviours to ensure patient safety

Medication errors are too frequently assigned as blame towards a single person. By considering these errors as a system-level failure, healthcare providers can take significant steps towards improving patient safety. …

GPhC reassures pharmacy professionals as government orders review of medical malpractice

Review ordered after trainee paediatrician struck off following death of six-year-old boy from sepsis…

NHS will publish avoidable deaths data

The NHS is set to become the first healthcare system in the world to publish data on how many deaths might have been caused by problems in care.…

Better leadership and engagement key to improving error reporting, study finds

Positive leadership and increased engagement are key to improving medication error reporting across the world, a study has found…