Reducing medication errors by applying risk management in educational community and hospital pharmacies in Iran

The purpose of this study was to developing a model for a risk management design for avoiding the medication errors in educational community and hospital pharmacies. Our purposes were to present convenient implements for the community and hospital pharmacists tomanage such errors and a practical example of recognizing risk minimization policies. Following the brainstorming method, the most important medication errors were recognized. Using the affinity diagram, those were grouped into prescribing, dispensing and administration errors.Within the prioritization matrix, these errors were categorized using as criteria: patient safety, significance for pharmacists, human resources required and the cost of applying a risk minimization policy. The medication errors were categorized based on the final score and riskmanagement policies were offered for each of them. The risk management plan is critical inpreventing and reducing medication errors and can be an important part in the strategy of quality assurance in hospital and community pharmacies activities.

Keywords:

medication error , risk management , educational pharmacy ,