Studies in the UK, USA and Australia estimate that 0.8 to 1,8% of hospital inpatients are harmed by medication errors Medication safety is therefore an area of concern amongst patients, healthcare professionals and policy makers alike.To reduce the numbers of patients harmed, we need to understand how often medication errors occur and why, understand the influence of the drug distribution system on the numbers and types of errors that occur, and evaluate the impact of changes designed to reduce them. Increasingly, these proposed changes involve the use of information technology and automation. However, in order for such research to be robust and meaningful, it must be underpinned by an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the many different methodological approaches. This is a research area fraught with methodological difficulties, as there are many ethical issues, as well as huge variability in the definitions, denominators and methods that have been used.
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