EMA makes key recommendations to tackle the issue of medication errors

The European Medicines Agency yesterday issued six key recommendations to tackle the issue of medication errors causing harm in the European Union. These recommendations are described in the medication-errors workshop report, which is available on the Agency’s web site.

This workshop was held by the EMA from February28, to March 1, 2013 to raise awareness of this important public-health issue. The Agency, in collaboration with the European Commission and the EU regulatory network, will now develop an action plan, which it will publish before the end of the year.

Medication errors are unintended errors in the prescribing, dispensing or administration of a medicine while in the control of a healthcare professional, patient or consumer. They are the single most common preventable cause of adverse events in medication practice.