Poor care management increases risk of errors

New research has revealed that poorly co-ordinated care doubles the risk of errors in drug administration and medical treatment, scientists found.

According to an international study published in the July issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, using data from Canada, USA, the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, 11 per cent of the 11,910 people surveyed said they had experience a medication or medical error in the last two years.

Poorly co-ordinated care increased the likelihood by 110 per cent to 200 per cent, while cost-related barriers caused an increase of between 50 and 160 per cent.

Other factors found to increase overall risk included suffering from depression, having diabetes or cancer and being ages 18 to 29.

"The two key factors that determined medical errors were poor care coordination and cost-related barriers," said lead author Dr Christine Lu from Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston.

"One interesting finding is that a notable proportion of patients reported cost-related barriers, even in countries where there is universal healthcare coverage."

Dr Lu said she hoped the findings would enable clinicians and policymakers to reduce errors which can be costly and cause patient injuries.