Medication error or near miss
NCLEX-RN glossary · Safety And Infection Prevention And Control
Definition
A Failure Signal (per Source Section 1.2) representing any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm.
Medication error or near miss in plain English
Reporting both errors and near misses is vital for identifying systemic weaknesses and preventing future sentinel events. The main trap is failing to report a 'near miss' because no harm reached the client, thereby ignoring a critical failure signal in the system.
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