Medication errors from an emergency room setting: safety solutions for nurses.

Medication errors represent a failure in the medication use process and can increase morbidity and mortality. The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention maintains a taxonomy that assists in standardized reporting, evaluating, and trending of medication error data. Many emergency departments are overcrowded from the increased responsibility of providing emergency and nonurgent medical care. Nursing staff in emergency departments is inadequate to handle the overload of patient visits. As a result, care is fragmented and methods designed to support patient safety are compromised. The most frequently reported error in emergency department care is medication error. This article analyzes methods to reduce medication errors in the emergency department. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.