Exploring errors in a medication process: an analysis of information delivery

We examine the prescribing process in a hospital to see whether information systems failure contributes to the occurrence of prescribing errors. J.T. Reason´s (1990) model of organisational failure suggests that this may be the case. Reason identified circumstances in work systems and processes where errors may occur. While Reason´s model has been applied in a medical context, it has not previously been linked to errors which result from information systems failure. It is held, however, that the model can be used as a predictive tool, suggesting that prescribing errors have an increased likelihood of occurring if one or more of the types of failure identified in Reason´s model are present in the existing information delivery process in a hospital. In this paper, we examine the application of Reason´s model in predicting prescribing errors and then calculate the extent to which these errors are evident in the hospital ward under examination.