Ambulatory Medication Errors and Adverse Drug Events (ADEs) in Pediatrics

This study has the following 2 goals:

Aim 1: To determine the rates, types, and predictors of medication errors and ADEs.

Aim 2: To perform a trial assessing the effectiveness of an intervention (CPOE) on reducing serious medication errors.

We hypothesize that:

1. Medication errors and ADEs are frequent in ambulatory pediatrics.
2. Presence of the following predictors will be associated with higher error rates: cultural, racial, socioeconomic, educational, and linguistic barriers to communication, understanding, and successful completion of prescribed therapies; complex medical or chronic medical conditions; complex medication regimens; non-physician providers with limited clinical experience; high provider workloads; and complex prescription refill systems.
3. Prevention strategies, including both technology-based and behavioral/ human factors-based interventions, will be effective and cost-effective in reducing rates of serious medication errors (defined as preventable ADEs and non-intercepted potential ADEs).