Table 5 Patient harm and risk classification associated with medication error (ME) reports involving high-alert medications (n = 743) and other medications (n = 1,389)
ME severity | ME reports involving other medications n (%) | ME reports involving high-alert medications n (%) | Total n (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Consequences to the patient | No harm | 707 (50.9) | 347 (46.7) | 1054 (49.4) |
Minor harm | 208 (15.0) | 135 (18.2) | 343 (16.1) | |
Moderate harm | 24 (1.7) | 27 (3.6) | 51 (2.4) | |
Severe harm | 1 (0.1) | 4 (0.5) | 5 (0.2) | |
Not known | 206 (14.8) | 110 (14.8) | 316 (14.8) | |
Not reported | 243 (17.5) | 120 (16.2) | 363 (17.0) | |
Total | 1,389 (100.0) | 743 (100.0) | 2,132 (100.0) | |
Chi-square test | X2 (5, N = 2,132) = 17,151, p = .004 | |||
Risk classification | I (insignificant risk) | 111 (8.0) | 39 (5.2) | 150 (7.0) |
II (low risk) | 851 (61.3) | 427 (57.5) | 1278 (59.9) | |
III (moderate risk) | 308 (22.2) | 237 (31.9) | 545 (25.6) | |
IV (significant risk) | 10 (0.7) | 11 (1.5) | 21 (1.0) | |
V (serious risk) | 1 (0.1) | 4 (0.5) | 5 (0.2) | |
Not reported | 108 (7.8) | 25 (3.4) | 133 (6.2) | |
Total | 1,389 (100.0) | 743 (100.0) | 2,132 (100.0) | |
Chi-square test | X2 (5, N = 2,132) = 46,669, p = .000 | |||