A pharmacy technician mistakenly typed an error into an electronic form that called for 60 times the amount of sodium chloride the physician originally ordered for the premature baby. The medication error caused the baby’s heart to stop, and the baby later died, according to the news report.
Lee Sacks, MD, chief medical officer for Advocate Health Care, declined comment on the incident, citing the hospital’s current ongoing investigation. According to the news report, several other shortfalls may have led to the baby’s death, including deactivated automatic alerts on the IV compounding machine.
Read the news report about the medication error at Advocate Lutheran General.
Related Articles on Medication Errors:
Pennsylvania Dept. of Health: Lehigh Valley Patient Died From Fatal Medication Error
Study: E-Prescribing Systems Should Not Be Used to Identify Error-Prone Physicians
12 California Hospitals Fined by Department of Public Health for Patient Safety Violations
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