Self-Medication Errors: Prevention and Patient Engagement

Self-medication errors are a growing concern in patient safety. This article discusses the need for patient engagement and health literacy to address this issue. It provides tips for preventive care and highlights the disadvantages of self-medication errors. References are included for further reading.

About Self-
Medication
Errors in
Elderly people
What is Self-
Medication?
Self-Medication is
phenomenon by which a
person self-administers the
drug to treat the physiological
as well as psychological
problems. There are certain
over the counter drugs that
are openly available without
any physician’s or doctor’s
prescription.
Self-medication error is a
growing concern among the
patient safety issues in the
world. This needs to be
addressed through patient
engagement and health
literacy.
Why self-medication
Prevention of Self-Medication errors
B
Self-Medication Errors
Together we
can!
Patient education is one of
primary goal. Awareness and
help can create big
differences in our lives.

5 Tips for preventive
care on how can you
prevent Self-
Medication errors?
1) Sometimes patients are not
able to recognize the
handwriting of the prescribed
medicines, in those cases the
patient should ask for and e-
prescription.
2) By Understanding the side
effects associated with the
medicines.
3) Consult a physician
immediately, if you notice any
side effects.
4) By checking the labels and the
indications as well as the
contraindication properly.
5) By being aware of the
medications being taken and
the food interactions and drug
interactions
Most importantly ask
FAMILY SUPPORT AND
ADVICE
Patient engagement, Family
Support and Advice
The elderly people are vulnerable
physically and in Australia there is a
considerable amount of population who
falls in the aged category. Hence, family
approached medication can help
reducing the medication errors among
the elderly population (Berger et al.,
2014).
“Do you know self-medication is growing
phenomena which has contributed
towards human pathogen resistant
antibiotics?” (Bennadi, 2013)
There is a growing need of
emotional support whenever it
comes to reducing self-
medication errors in elderly
patient (Schulz and Eden, 2014).
There are many communities who
What are the disadvantages of Self-
Medication errors?
 Delay in appropriate diagnosis
 Side-effects
 Overdose
 Hypersensitivity
 Allergy
 Anti-biotic resistance
Community Offerings
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health
care, provides safe and quality medication use, which is
also a part of National Safety and Quality health
Services. Website:
https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/medicatio
n-safety/
There are many organizations that provide healthcare
support: You can reach :
https://www.australia.gov.au/information-and-services/be
nefits-and-payments/older-australians
The Australian government funded services are
available in:
My Aged care, provides services for Australian
References
Bennadi D. (2013). Self-medication: A current
challenge. Journal of basic and clinical
pharmacy, 5(1), 19–23.
Berger, Z., Flickinger, T. E., Pfoh, E., Martinez, K.
A., & Dy, S. M. (2014). Promoting engagement by
patients and families to reduce adverse events in
acute care settings: a systematic review. BMJ
Qual Saf, 23(7), 548-555.
Mira, J. J., Lorenzo, S., Guilabert, M., Navarro, I.,
& Pérez-Jover, V. (2015). A systematic review of
patient medication error on self-administering
medication at home. Expert opinion on drug
safety, 14(6), 815-838.
Schulz, R., Eden, J., & National Academies of