A Five Years Retrospective Study of Reported Medication Incidents at a Jordanian Teaching Hospital: Patterns and Trends

Purpose: This is a five years retrospective study aiming to examine the frequency, type, and severity index classification of reported medication incidents at a multi-specialty Jordanian teaching hospital between January 2009 and December 2013. Method: Out of 10042 incident reports retrieved from the quality department 3165 incident reports were related to medication management process. Detailed content analysis of medication incident reports was conducted to obtain all relevant information. Data were coded anonymously and codes were recorded using SPSS data extraction sheet. Results: There was decrease in the incidents from 31.2% in 2009 to 14.3% in 2013, and 39% of incidents occurred between august and October. Around 86% of reported incidents were near miss incidents and captured before reaching the patient. Incorrect dose accounted for more than 52% of the reported incidents. Most reporters were pharmacists, followed by nurses and then others including physicians. Conclusion: Effective reliable medication error reporting system could provide direction on reducing medication errors. Medication incident reports provide priceless learning opportunities to prevent medication errors. It is obvious that more educational and training is needed about drug dosing for new nurses and physicians in Jordan.