This survey of palliative care workers in Germany sought to identify common medical errors in this setting. The majority of errors were related to communication, system failures, and medication administration, including opioid overdose.

Patients receiving palliative care can be medically complex and often require medications considered high-risk (such as opioid pain medications). These factors are known to be associated with an increased risk of medical errors, but thus far, few studies have examined patient safety risks in palliative care patients. This survey of palliative medicine physicians in Germany found that most considered errors to be a significant problem in palliative care, and respondents cited medication errors and errors related to communication as the most common types of patient safety problems in the field. An AHRQ WebM&M case discusses a preventable adverse event that occurred in a palliative care patient.

Finding limited research on patient safety in palliative care, this review highlights the need for better definitions of medical errors in this setting.