Risk Evaluation of Drug Safety in the Emergency Treatment Process Using a Modified HFMEA-based Associated Matrix

Error reduction is important for quality medical services and certification requirements. Patients have mostly complained of poor medical quality in the emergency care department. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a risk assessment procedure for the emergency treatment process to ensure drug quality for patients. The associated matrix technique was proposed to improve the evaluation criteria of traditional Health Care Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (HFMEA). We used a medical center in Taiwan as a model to describe and validate the proposed process. Analysis revealed that most drug usage errors originate from prescription drugs and controlled substances. The results demonstrated the feasibility of a risk assessment procedure to identify emergency flow problems and thus improve drug safety management in hospitals.