Active and latent errors
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Active errors are failures or events that occur immediately before an accident or incident in healthcare and might include frontline workers’ actions as they interact with nurses and doctors. One example of this error is an incorrect picking of ampoule medicine out of anesthetic trolley drug administration. The second example is the wrong medication dosage given by a nurse caused by mathematical errors. The third example is failing to identify in lab service, before the blood draw, and missing blood vessels during Phlebotomy. Other examples include but are not limited to blood tube mislabelling, data entry errors, failing to respond to the flag’s instrument, and errors associated with pipetting.
Latent errors are failures associated with the healthcare systems. Most of the time, latent errors tend to be less apparent issues within the healthcare organization that can result in active errors. These errors appear to be dormant within the systems, although they are evident under a particular circumstance. Examples of latent errors are understaffing chronically during evening shifts, data entry errors resulting from evening shifts, improper lab results labeling, and errors associated with the specimen (Aston, 2009).
These errors can be avoided by ensuring the healthcare team is kept informed, asking information when acquiring medicine and Proper prescription of medicine and proper labeling, and understanding medicine.
Reference
Aston. M (2009). Latent Errors in Lab Services: The Lab’s Disconnect from Patients. https://www.aacc.org/-/media/Files/CLN/Astion-Patient-Safety-Articles-CLN/Latent-Errors-CLN-2009.pdf?la=en&hash=9A90029DF21E73A6489CD83A544946DFAA4C4E46#:~:text=In%20healthcare%2C%20active%20errors%20are,blood%20vessel%20when%20performing%20phlebotomy.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2017). 20 Tips To Help Prevent Medical Errors: Patient Fact Sheet. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/patients-consumers/care-planning/errors/20tips/20tips.pdf