Medical Errors in Chemotherapy Medications

A recent investigation into medical errors in adults and children taking chemotherapy medications found that 7 percent of adults and 19 percent of children who were taking these drugs to fight cancer were given the wrong dose or had some other error in their medication.

Between 40 and 50 percent of these errors had the potential to do harm to the patient. Errors included conflicting doses, over-hydration, and abdominal pain (failure to treat constipation). About half of the errors were at the clinic, 28 percent were in ordering the medication and 7 percent of the errors were at the patient's own home (in children more that 70% of the errors occurred in the home).

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The study authors conclude that better communication (especially with the parents of children), avoiding the practice of pre-writing chemotherapy orders and better training all around could prevent many of the errors.

The study came from a review conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (a top notch agency, part of the Department of Health and Human Services). The study was published in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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