Medication error risk and obtaining an accurate medication history
Where medication errors happen (selection, dose, transcription, dispensing, administration), the patient, drug and system factors that raise risk, the APINCHS high-risk medicines, and how to take a best possible medication history and reconcile it at admission, transfer and discharge under the NSQHS Medication Safety Standard.
Tier 1Topic overview
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- Medication-related problems cause about 250,000 Australian hospital admissions and 400,000 emergency presentations a year, and about half are preventable (PSA, Medicine Safety: Take Care, 2019).
- Errors happen at every step: medicine selection, dose selection, transcription, dispensing, administration and monitoring. Most harm comes from a small group of high-risk medicines (APINCHS).
- The single biggest source of error in hospital is an incomplete medication history on admission. Errors carry through to the inpatient chart and the discharge summary.
Loading the rest of the note…
Finished reading?
Sources
- National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, 2nd edition (version 2): Medication Safety StandardAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2021
- Medication reconciliationAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- National tall man lettering listAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- Recommendations for terminology, abbreviations and symbols used in medicines documentationAU/NZAustralian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
- Medicine Safety: Take CareAU/NZPharmaceutical Society of Australia, 2019
- High 5s Project: Medication reconciliation standard operating protocolWorld Health Organization
- Medication Without Harm: WHO Global Patient Safety ChallengeWorld Health Organization, 2017
- Tam VC et al. Frequency, type and clinical importance of medication history errors at admission to hospital: a systematic review. CMAJ 2005;173:510-5Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2005
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Turnstile bot check on sign-in and signed-out feedback