Medication errors caused by junior doctors

doi:10.1136/bmj.39475.402650.80

BMJ 2008;336:456 (1 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39475.402650.80 (published 7 February 2008)

Editorials

Medication errors caused by junior doctors

Association with depression and burn-out remains uncertain

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The effects of medical errors on patient morbidity and mortalityhave been highlighted in the United Kingdom and the United States.¹²Preventable medication errors account for 10-20% of adverseevents in patients admitted to hospital.¹ In the UK, up to 1.5%of hospital prescriptions may contain a medication error, anda quarter of these could result in potentially serious effects.³The situation is similar in Australia and the US—medicationerrors occur in about 1-2% of patients admitted to hospital,resulting in around 7000 deaths a year in the US alone.² ⁴

Although junior doctors are responsible for most medicationerrors in hospital,⁵ investigations to date have mainly focusedon the role of system failures, rather than factors in prescribers,such as burn-out or depression. The mental health of juniordoctors has been studied widely, but no data are available onthe possible association between depression and burn-out inprescribers and medication . . . [Full text of this article]

James McLay, senior lecturer in medicine and therapeutics, Sarah Ross, lecturer in medicine and therapeutics

¹ Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD

j.mclay@abdn.ac.uk

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