THE PREVALENCE AND MOST FREQUENTLY MEDICAL ERRORS IN EMERGENCY ROOM IN KSA
Abstract
Background: Emergency department (ED) medical errors present high risk to patient safety and treatment quality. Despite the continuing efforts to reduce these errors they persist and are associated with increased rates of error among emergency physicians, largely due to fatigue. This study examines the occurrence of and types of medical errors in emergency rooms in (KSA), and medication errors in particular. Objective: The goals of this research were to ascertain the Prevalence of medical errors in emergency rooms of KSA and most common types of errors, which had affected patient care.
Methods: The study used a structured questionnaire distributed online to healthcare professionals with experience in emergency medicine and distributed through KSA. Individuals familiar with medical errors in emergency were included in the inclusion criteria. Data were collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software, demographics, awareness of medical errors, perceived frequency and causes of errors. Results: A total of 524 participants completed the survey comprising a mean age of 28.9 years. Interestingly, not only did over 87.8% of respondents know what an error can be within emergency medicine, but also 44.9% asserted errors are happening on an extremely frequent or frequent basis. The main causes of these errors were miscommunication (64.3%) and inadequate training (42.7%). But 90 per cent of participants were in favour of mandatory training programs for improved patient safety, particularly in medication teaching and communication skills education. Conclusion: The study found that emergency medicine practitioners in KSA are highly aware of medical errors, but there is high frequency of medical errors, through gaps in communication and lack of training. The findings emphasize the dire need for systemic change — especially in terms of increased staffing and better training — to reduce errors and build patient safety in emergency settings.