Table 1. Percent of medication errors occurring within the four stages of the medication process

Physician ordering: 39-49%
Nursing administration: 26-38%
Transcription: 11-12%
Pharmacy dispensing: 11-14%

Sources: (1) Bates DW, Cullen DJ, Laird N, et al. Incidence of adverse drug events and potential adverse drug events. JAMA 1995;274(1):29-34. (2) Leape LL, Bates DW, Cullen DJ, et al. Systems analysis of adverse drug events. JAMA 1995;274(1):35-43.

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