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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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Don't Reconnect the Tubes

When you visit someone in the hospital, you may be amazed to see how many tubes are connected to them. Sometimes one of these tubes becomes disconnected. But don't try to be helpful and reattach the tube. You could connect it to the wrong thing and cause serious harm.

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Getting the Wrong Person’s Medicine at the Pharmacy: Easy Steps Consumers Can Take to Avoid These Errors

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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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Does Your College-Bound Child Know What to Do if They Make a Mistake with Their Medicines?

After high school, many young adults, ages 18 through 24, look forward to new and exciting opportunities. Many of them leave home for college, work, or military service. They feel extremely independent and able to handle most situations. With the use of technology, they can usually find the help and answers they need within minutes when problems arise. But, this can also be a very stressful time in life. If your child needs to take medicine to treat a medical condition, mistakes can happen. This can lead to a life-threatening situation. The question is, should they turn to the Internet for answers?

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