PHARMACIST’S ROLE IN REPORTING AND PREVENTING MEDICATION ERRORS AT A GENERAL HOSPITAL IN MAKKAH, SAUDI ARABIA

Background: Medication errors significantly impact patient morbidity and mortality. Due to their specialized expertise, pharmacists are essential in detecting and averting these errors. Methods: This study evaluated pharmacists’ roles in reporting and preventing medication errors at King Faisal Hospital in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Using a cross-sectional method, we analyzed medication error reports to understand the rate, causes, and types of errors during the study period. A questionnaire further probed pharmacists’ interventions in reducing these errors. Results: Of the 45 pharmacists surveyed (average age: 34.91 ± 3.9 years), 1,738 medication errors were reported between September 2021 and July 2022, peaking in October 2021. Key causes were prescribing errors (26%), dispensing errors (16%), and dosing errors (10%), with the remaining 48% attributed to various other factors. Common interventions included liaising with physicians for emergency order verification, preventing unintended dispensation, and correcting dosing mistakes. Conclusion: Predominant medication errors arose from prescribing, dispensing, dosing, omission, improper dosage, and incorrect frequency. Miscommunication in drug orders, characterized by illegibility or ambiguity, was a major error contributor. Upon detecting errors, pharmacists frequently reported to supervisors, communicated with physicians for clarity, informed responsible parties to correct and prevent repeat occurrences, and championed more training to address these issues proactively.