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Economic Evaluation of the Impact of Medication Errors Reported by U . S . Clinical Pharmacists
Author(s) -
Samp Jennifer C.,
Touchette Daniel R.,
Marinac Jacqueline S.,
Kuo Grace M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1002/phar.1370
Subject(s) - reimbursement , medicine , medication error , psychological intervention , harm , emergency medicine , medical emergency , patient safety , health care , psychiatry , psychology , social psychology , economics , economic growth
Objective Medication errors defined as “any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm” have been highlighted as a top national priority in a report issued by the I nstitute of M edicine. However, little information is available on precise costs of medication errors. This study estimated the cost of medication errors reported by clinical pharmacists using a modified societal perspective. Methods Information on 779 medication errors was collected in the M edication E rror D etection, A melioration and P revention ( MEDAP ) study that documented medication errors observed by clinical pharmacists during a consecutive 14‐day period. The rate of medication errors, outcomes (number of errors resulting in temporary/permanent patient harm, prolonged hospitalization, or life‐sustaining therapy), and interventions (communication, medication changes, patient monitoring, and treatment referrals) were collected. A decision model was developed to estimate the economic impact of medication errors reported by clinical pharmacists. Event probabilities were derived from MEDAP data. Direct costs were obtained through reviews of the literature, hospital charge data, and M edicare and M edicaid reimbursement. One‐way and M onte C arlo sensitivity analyses were used to explore uncertainty in the values. Results In the base case, the mean expected cost of a medication error was $88.57. In the M onte C arlo simulation, the mean cost was $89.35 (± $30.17 SD ). One‐way sensitivity analysis revealed that changes in the probability of medication errors causing hospitalization and the cost of hospitalization had the greatest variability on the outcome ($50.44–$155.81 [probability of hospitalization], $32.59–$136.40 [cost of hospitalization]). Conclusions Medication errors are costly to the health care system. A better understanding of medication error costs may be used to justify initiatives to reduce the risk and inefficiency associated with these errors.