Discuss The Importance Of Reporting Medication Errors

There is great importance in regards to reporting medication errors within a facility. The report of medication errors trigger the healthcare staff to unveil what has gone wrong in their system of medication administration. In many settings reporting of medication errors are voluntary and the perceptions of the healthcare staff influence their decision-making process on whether to report the errors or not (Samsiah, Othman, Jamshed, & Hassali, 2016). In order for facilities to enhance their process and system, medication errors warrant reporting to discover weak areas and strengthen them for the future of patient quality.
Pharmacist Emmanuel Matthews is employed in a primary care setting and was questioned over a Skype interview. Through conversations with him it is noted that in the facility where he works, when a medication error is discovered it is immediately documented and logged internally, once that information has been recorded it is reported externally to the Food and Drug Administration (E. Matthews, personal communication, June 1, 2017). When …show more content…
Matthews, personal communication, June 1, 2017). A high importance should be placed on collaboration between the multiple departments. All too often staff members become mundane in their routine and slowly begin to skip steps to speed the process. However, if more in depth collaboration took place it would aid in reducing the amount of medication errors that erupt from preventable causes (E. Matthews, personal communication, June 1, 2017). Managers and executives in the healthcare field should make improvements and place emphasis on teamwork, which will contribute to encouraging the reporting of errors and improving patient safety (Hwang & Jeonghoon, 2015). The more medication errors are reported the more learning opportunities for enhancing process can be