Evaluation of pharmacist-led educational interventions to reduce medication errors in emergency hospitals: a new insight into patient care

Background Medication errors made by nurses are common in general practice and can lead to harm in patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of pharmacist-led educational implementations in reducing medication errors made by nurses in an emergency hospital in Cairo, Egypt. Methods A prospective pre-post-interventional study was conducted in an emergency hospital using direct observation for the detection of errors. The rate and severity of medication errors were determined before and after the implementation of educational tools. Results In total, 1025 and 1024 patients were examined pre- and post-intervention, respectively. Pharmacist interventions resulted in a significant reduction in the medication error rate from 351 (34.2%) in the pre-intervention phase to 157 (15.3%) in the post-intervention phase (P < 0.001). In both the pre- and post-intervention phases, none of the medication errors were associated with harm/death. Furthermore, all types of medication errors declined as a result of the interventions. Conclusion Clinical pharmacists' interventions focusing on improving nurses' drug knowledge and awareness of errors were shown to be effective in reducing the rate and severity of medication administration errors among nurses in an emergency hospital environment.