(P-442) Medication Error Concept and Reporting Practices in Saudi Arabia: A Nationwide Study Among Healthcare Professionals

Background: Medication errors pose a risk for individual patients and for public health, with the misuse and overuse of medications being linked to severe patient safety problems.

Objectives: The study was to investigate healthcare professionals’ (HCPs’) knowledge about medication error concepts, their knowledge about medication error reporting systems, and predictors for HCPs to report medication errors in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among HCPs (physicians, pharmacists, and nurses) between January and March 2020. The study included 6 distinct locations in the Saudi Arabian regions of Hail, Al-Qassim, Al-Jouf, Al-Madinah, the eastern region, and the western region. Descriptive statistical and inferential analyses were computed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v.22.

Results: In total, 980 questionnaires for 348 (35.5%) physicians, 144 (14.7%) pharmacists, and 488 (49.8%) nurses were distributed with a response rate of 100%. Interestingly, only 277 (28.3%) of the HCPs had a good understanding of the stages of medication errors. Of these HCPs, pharmacists made up the highest percentage with a count of 58 (40.3%). The differences between the HCPs and knowledge about the stages of medication errors were statistically significant (p = 0.004). With regard to reporting practices, a high number of the HCPs 576 (58.8%) had not reported medication errors in their workplaces, and 369 (37.7%) of respondents said they believe that legal implications are a major barrier to the reporting of medication errors. More than half 524 (53.5%) of HCPs revealed that no clear electronic system is available for the reporting of medication errors in most hospitals. In addition, 537 (54.8%) of the HCPs had not attended any training programs regarding medication error reporting systems within the past year, which is alarming. HCPs’ belief that medication error reports are an important patient safety topic (odds ratio (OR) = 2.260, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.254–4.075) was a predictor for the HCPs to report medication errors at their institutions.

Conclusions: Our study identified a huge lack of the reporting of medication errors, knowledge about medication error stages, and training on medication errors. Therefore, an urgent need to address these weaknesses exists. Based on the study results, the need exists to launch "No Blame, No Punishment" campaigns in hospitals and other health institutions to enhance medication error reporting. The inclusion of pharmacovigilance in the curricula of health colleges at universities is also critical.