Preventable medication harm across health care settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Alexander Hodkinson; Natasha Tyler; Darren M. Ashcroft; Richard N. Keers; Kanza Khan; Denham Phipps; Aseel Abuzour; Peter Bower; Anthony Avery; Stephen Campbell; Maria Panagioti

Review

Preventable medication harm across health care settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

February 17, 2021

Hodkinson A, Tyler N, Ashcroft DM, et al. BMC Med. 2020;18(1):313.

View more articles from the same authors.

Medication errors represent a significant source of preventable harm. This large meta-analysis, including 81 studies, found that approximately 1 in 30 patients is exposed to preventable medication harm, and more than one-quarter of this harm is considered severe or life-threatening. Preventable medication harm occurred most frequently during medication prescribing and monitoring. The highest rates of preventable medication harm were seen in elderly patient care settings, intensive care, highly specialized or surgical care, and emergency medicine.

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