Frequency of chemotherapy medication errors: A systematic review

Objective: To synthesize peer-reviewed knowledge on the frequency of different types of chemotherapy medication errors. Methods: The data were collected from studies published between January 1, 2000, and March 3, 2018, and are identified through online resources such as Medline/PubMed, PubMed Central, Agency for Healthcare Research, and Quality and the Cochrane Library. The manuscripts published in peer-reviewed scientific journals in English language were included in the study. Initially, 19,723 articles were retrieved and finally 11 were found to be eligible to include in the review and were assessed for quality. Error percentages were calculated from the ratio of error type (numerator) to sample size (denominator: medication orders or prescriptions). Results: Overall, the chemotherapy medication errors ranged from 0.004% to 41.6% among various studies. Chemotherapy medication errors ranged from 0.1% to 24.6% in prescribing, 0.40% to 0.50% in preparation, 0.03% in dispensing, and 0.02% to 0.10% in administering phases. Conclusion: Prescribing phase had the highest number of chemotherapy medication errors reported, and least was reported during dispensing phase. We also noticed a need for harmonization for reporting of medication errors.