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Reporting a Medication Error

What Do We Do With Your Report?

At ISMP, we review incident reports submitted by consumers and healthcare professionals and look for ways to prevent harmful errors. For example, we may approach a manufacturer to suggest that the label of a product be changed, we may suggest safer ways for healthcare professionals to handle medications, or we may remind consumers of things they can do to avoid making mistakes with medications.

ISMP will:

  • Review your report
  • Look for system problems that could cause errors to happen
  • Prepare recommendations that are designed to prevent mistakes with medication
  • Send recommendations about medication safety to healthcare professionals and consumers
  • Notify the manufacturer if it is a product issue
  • Advocate throughout the healthcare system to promote changes to improve medication safety
  • Provide consumer-focused information and tips about medication safety on the ConsumerMedSafety.org website
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ISMP will not:

  • Investigate a complaint on your behalf with an organization or healthcare professional that is responsible for an error
  • Investigate the actions of individual practitioners
  • Report (for disciplinary purposes) the incident to professional authorities responsible for regulating the practice of healthcare professionals
  • Release or publish any information that could identify the reporter of an incident, a patient, a healthcare professional, or an organization involved in an incident

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More Safety Articles

Become More Familiar with the Medicine You Take... Learn the Generic Name

Medicines all have one generic name and perhaps one or more brand names. The brand name is chosen by the drug company. The generic name is assigned by an official body, the United States Adopted Names (USAN) Council. You probably know, for example, that Advil and Motrin are brand names for the generic medicine ibuprofen. Knowing that Advil, Motrin, and ibuprofen are all the same medicine alerts you to an important risk—that taking these medicines together could add up to an overdose.

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Inspect Your Medicine Before Leaving the Pharmacy

A woman went to pick up her son's prescription for Metadate CD (methylphenidate, extended release), which is used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The pharmacist had a hard time reading the prescription. He thought the doctor had prescribed methadone. This medicine is used for drug withdrawal, and also to lessen cancer pain.

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Help Prevent Fatal Error During Lifesaving Cancer Treatment

A rare but fatal error can occur when the cancer medicine vincristine is given the wrong way. Vincristine is given intravenously (into the vein) to treat various types of cancer. It is often given in combination with another cancer medicine called methotrexate. Methotrexate can be given into the spinal canal (intrathecally). This helps prevent the cancer from spreading to the brain. If vincristine is mistakenly given into the spinal canal instead of the methotrexate, death is almost certain.

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Delivery Errors Can Occur

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