A Survey of Medication Errors among Anaesthesiologists of Karnataka - A Pilot Study

Background: Medication errors in modern medical practice add to the cost of patient care and increase human suffering. We decided to conduct a survey among practicing anesthesiologists of our region in order to assess the prevalence of medication errors, the current knowledge of medication errors, common drugs involved and the possible corrective measures. Methods: After obtaining an approval from the institutional ethical committee a pre- validated questionnaire of 18 questions was distributed by electronic mail to the members of Indian Society of Anaesthesiologists, Karnataka state branch. Results: We received 324 survey responses. The percentage of anaesthesiologists who attempted the survey was 14.37% (the number of people who attempted the survey divided by the number of emails delivered including those who opted out) Out of these, 242 respondents (74.69%) said that they had experienced or witnessed at least 1 medication error (Figure 1). Of the 142 respondents who answered the question, 79.58% had a near miss event, and 53.52% had not reported the incident to the hospital authorities (Figure 2). Majority of the incidents involved adults (86.2%), 59.8 % involved substitution of a drug, and the errors were more common with general anaesthesia (84.51%). Conclusion: Our survey showed that most respondents believed in a reporting system for medication errors and that multiple precautionary measures were required to prevent such events.