Key Terms
compulsive and uncontrollable use of a drug substance for reasons other than prescribed
Addiction
occurs when the prescribed drug initiates an allergy or an dverse drug interaction flag that was missed
Adverse drug error
a negative consequence to a patient from taking a particular drug, due to the nature of the drug itself, for certain vulnerable populations
ADR (adverse drug reaction)
where the technician and or the pharmacist starts to have a relaxed attitude and bypass drug utilization warnings
Alert fatigue
an error that occurs when focus on a task is diverted elsewhere and, therefore, the error goes undetected
Capture error
when aseptic technique is not followed in compounding, and the drug is no longer sterile and causes a microorganism infection
Contaminated product error
occurs when a technician or pharmacist is interrupted in the middle of a filing process and forgets a portion of key information or train of thought, and some information or safety decision gets missed
Distraction error
when essential information is not properly noted, such as a prescription, allergy, patient request, or other information in the medication profile, or not properly processing insurance or billing
Documentation error
a patient who is dependent on or addicted to drugs, who may receive prescriptions for the same similar or similar controlled drugs from several physicians and pharmacies
Drug seeker
when the body adapts to a drug so that higher doses are needed to produce the same pharmacological effect
Drug tolerance
an error in which more doses are received by a patient than were prescribed by the physician
Extra dose error
occurs when a technician fears the consequences of speaking up and asking the pharmacist or the prescriber to double-check an element of the prescription
fear error
an error generated by failure that occurs at an individual level
human failure
occurs when full information is not available because the patient was not asked sufficient or proper questions, or the answers were somehow not recorded in the profile, or the patient withheld information deliberately or by accident of memory
Incomplete information
occurs when an essential piece of information cannot be verified, and an assumption is made
Incorrect assumption error
a specific risk assessment program for isotretinoin, which can cause a high incidence of birth defects if not properly monitored
iPledge program
printed information in which the FDA communicates side effects, adverse reactions, and black-box warnings for high-risk drugs
Medguide
when the proper medication education materials and counsel are not passed on to the patient or medication administrator
Medication education error
any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer
Medication error
failure to medication therapy as the physician instructsl also called nonadherence
Medication noncompliance
an internet-based program of the USP for use by hospitals and healthcare systems for documenting, tracking, and identifying trends for adverse events and medication errors
MEDMARX
a voluntary program by the FDA that allows any healthcare professional or consumer to report a serious adverse event associated with the use of any drug, biological device, or dietary supplement
MEdWatch
when a medication has incorrect information on it leading to the wrong use of it, or the wrong patient receiving it
Mislabeling error
an administration error in which a prescribed dose is not given
Omission error
groups designed to collect and analyze error data from more than one health provider and offer quality improvement counsel
Patient Safety Organization