Medication Management - Part 1

Unintended Consequences in Medication Management Process

An unintended consequence generally means a result that occurred or something that happened that was not planned for or done on purpose. It is very important to first understand what medication errors are as they are an integral part of the problem. According to Bates and Hughes, medication errors could be preventable adverse drug events (ADE) or potential ADEs. Preventable ADEs are consequences of actions that could have been prevented, while potential ADEs are consequences that could have harmful effects but did not cause injury.