EPMA-related contributory factors to medication errors: development of a taxonomy to inform the optimisation strategy for an electronic patient record

Abstract

Background: Optimisation of a hospital's electronic prescribing and medication administration (EPMA) system requires a process of iterative refinement based on real world user experience. One source of this information is the medication error dataset generated from internal reporting systems. A process for analysis of this data is needed however, in order to derive meaningful insights over time.

Objective: To develop a taxonomy to facilitate the contemporaneous tracking and analysis of EPMA-related contributory factors to medication errors.

Materials and methods: Medication errors reported over a 6-year period following implementation of a hospital EPMA system were analysed in order to identify incidents where the electronic system had been a contributory factor. A taxonomy was designed which captured the common themes and was suitable for incorporation into the reporting system.

Conclusion: A tool was designed for real-time recording and categorisation of EPMA-related contributory factors to medication errors. Data generated from the taxonomy is used to inform the optimisation strategy for the EPMA system.

Keywords: EPMA; EPMA-related contributory factors; Electronic Medication and Prescribing Administration; Eprescribing; Medication errors; Medication safety; Taxonomy.