An often-ignored consequence of medication errors is their personal effect on nurses and the entire health care community. Physicians, pharmacists, and nurses want patients to feel secure with the hospital's capabilities and the staff's expertise. Patients must trust that they will receive safe care. But when an error occurs, patients and their families lose confidence and blame health care providers and the hospital that hired them. Nurses often feel demoralized and frustrated because they can't provide the best possible care for their patients.
Some nurses feel so emotionally devastated by an error that they become physically sick.
Occasionally, nurses choose to leave the profession. At the same time, the hospital's reputation in the community may be tarnished. Reducing medication errors After the IOM report's release, former President Clinton asked a government health care task force to address the issues that it raised. The IOM called upon health care regulators to act, as well. This external pressure to boost safety has motivated many hospitals to examine their present medication-use systems, review how errors occur, and start new prevention strategies.