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Medication errors in older people with mental health problems: a review
Author(s) -
Maidment Ian D,
Haw Camilla,
Stubbs Jean,
Fox Chris,
Katona Cornelius,
Franklin Bryony Dean
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.1943
Subject(s) - psycinfo , medline , mental health , medicine , relevance (law) , psychiatry , psychology , gerontology , political science , law
Objective To review and summarise published data on medication errors in older people with mental health problems. Methods A systematic review was conducted to identify studies that investigated medication errors in older people with mental health problems. MEDLINE, EMBASE, PHARMLINE, COCHRANE COLLABORATION and PsycINFO were searched electronically. Any studies identified were scrutinized for further references. The title, abstract or full text was systematically reviewed for relevance. Results Data were extracted from eight studies. In total, information about 728 errors (459 administration, 248 prescribing, 7 dispensing, 12 transcribing, 2 unclassified) was available. The dataset related almost exclusively to inpatients, frequently involved non‐psychotropics, and the majority of the errors were not serious. Conclusions Due to methodology issues it was impossible to calculate overall error rates. Future research should concentrate on serious errors within community settings, and clarify potential risk factors. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.