Medication self-administration by patients: a way to prevent errors?

Formby, Frank T

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2008.tb02132.x

Topics

To the Editor: Two studies1,2 and an editorial3 on the vexed issue of medication errors in hospitals have recently appeared in the Journal. Yet none of them have mentioned patients, except as the passive victims of error, and all three have focused exclusively on public hospitals. This is unfortunate as, arguably, the public hospital system is evolving predominantly into a way station along the chronic illness journey within the wider health care system.

South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service, David Berry Hospital, Berry, NSW.

Correspondence: f.formby@unsw.edu.au

1. Coombes ID, Stowasser DA, Coombes JA, Mitchell C. Why do interns make prescribing errors? A qualitative study. Med J Aust 2008; 188: 89-94. <MJA full text>
2. Nichols P, Copeland T, Craib IA, et al. Learning from error: identifying contributory causes of medication errors in an Australian hospital. Med J Aust 2008; 188: 276-279. <MJA full text>
3. Hughes CF. Medication errors in hospitals: what can be done [editorial]? Med J Aust 2008; 188: 267-268. <MJA full text>
4. Runciman WB, Roughead EE, Semple SJ, Adams RJ. Adverse drug events and medication errors in Australia. Int J Qual Health Care 2003; 15 Suppl 1: i49-i59.
5. Hospital Pharmacists Group. One stop dispensing, use of patients’ own drugs and self-administration schemes. Hosp Pharm 2002; 9: 81-86.
6. Lummis H, Sketris I, Veldhuyzen van Zanten S. Systematic review of the use of patients’ own medications in acute care institutions. J Clin Pharm Ther 2006; 31: 541-563.

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