Cost of the medication error and adverse drug events in the medication therapy chain: review literature as a topic

Abstract

Objective: Analyze the scientific production related to the cost of medication errors and adverse drug events in the stages of the medication therapy chain. Methods: We conducted an integrative review of the published literature from 2005 to 2017. Databases searched included LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System on-line). Results: We analyzed 19 articles with a predominance of evidence level 6 through both the hierarchical system (63.2%) and economic evaluations (42.1%). Among the articles, seven were related to drug prescription, one to medication therapy management, two were related to prescrip[1]tion and medication therapy management, and nine included all stages of the medication therapy chain. There was a great mismatch of values presented in the estimation of avoidable cost/medication error, with a mean cost of US$ 617.493.770,36, ranging from US$ 83,32 to US$ 5,095,640,000.00. Conclusion: We concluded that it was possible to prove that medication errors can generate high costs and they represent an important source of medical waste and hospital inefficiency. Thus, we stress the importance of adopting preventive measures.