Medication Errors in Anesthesia: New Approach to a Persistent Problem (1 Class A CE with 1 Pharm)

Medication errors in the operating room are not uncommon and most are considered preventable. This presentation will review the elements of medication errors and review the root cause of common errors. Because the unique perioperative medication administration workflow and the lack of technology to support medication safety leaves anesthesia professionals susceptible to making intraoperative medication errors, the use of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) as a means in reducing human error and medication errors in OR and non-OR locations will be discussed. A retrospective descriptive exploratory review of perioperative medication errors was performed at a tertiary care academic medical center from August 2020 and August 2022. The primary outcomes of medication error types, severity, and potential preventability with CDS will be reported. Moreover, when CDS is not available, other strategies to reduce medication errors will be discussed.