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A systematic review of approaches for calculating the cost of medication errors

Patel, Krishan; Jay, Robert; Shahzad, Muhammad Waseem; Green, William; Patel, Rakesh

Authors

Krishan Patel

Robert Jay

Muhammad Waseem Shahzad

William Green

Rakesh Patel



Abstract

© 2016 Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. Introduction: Although medication errors may cause significant morbidity and mortality, the true cost of avoidable harm from such errors is unclear. While studies describe different methods for calculating a financial cost from an error, there remains variability in the way calculations are conducted depending on the clinical context. This review aimed to investigate the range of approaches for calculating medication error costs across healthcare settings. Methods: A systematic review was carried out with a duplicate data extraction approach and mixed methods data synthesis. Medline, Embase and Web of Science were searched for studies published between 1993 and 2015. Studies that explicitly described a method for calculating medication error cost were included. The variables used for the calculations and a description of the approach for calculating errors were reported. Results: 21 studies were included in the final review. There was wide variation in the way calculations were undertaken, with some calculations using a single variable only and others using several variables in a multistep approach. Few calculations included indirect costs, such as loss of earnings for the patient, and only one calculation considered opportunity cost. The majority of studies presented direct medication error costs whereas others approximated error costs from the savings made following an intervention. Conclusions: There are a wide range of methods used for calculating the cost of medication errors. The diversity arises from the number of variables used in calculations, the perspective from which the calculation is conducted from, and the degree of economic rigour applied by researchers.

Citation

Patel, K., Jay, R., Shahzad, M. W., Green, W., & Patel, R. (2016). A systematic review of approaches for calculating the cost of medication errors. European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 23(5), 294-301. https://doi.org/10.1136/ejhpharm-2016-000915

Journal Article Type Review
Acceptance Date May 10, 2016
Online Publication Date Jun 8, 2016
Publication Date Aug 25, 2016
Deposit Date Mar 28, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy
Print ISSN 2047-9956
Electronic ISSN 2047-9964
Publisher BMJ Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 23
Issue 5
Pages 294-301
DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/ejhpharm-2016-000915
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3259329
Publisher URL https://ejhp.bmj.com/content/23/5/294