I report adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but another pharmacist reports medication errors. Should we continue collecting data about errors or focus strictly on adverse drug events and patient harm?
Adverse drug events are outcome measures, while voluntarily reported errors are not. Data on the number of medication errors should be collected for qualitative learning since the error-reporting rate itself may be a reflection of the culture of reporting. Reviewing patient records alone to determine an error rate will not identify all errors, although more errors are identified with record reviews than by relying solely on voluntary reports. If your institution likes the current method of reporting and analyzing errors, it is fine to continue using it as long as you understand its limitations and interpret the data accordingly.
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