Prescription errors

In one study reported by the.American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy "Analysis of Mortalities Associated With Medication Errors"

A total of 5366 medication error reports were identified during the time period. Of these, (68.2%) were classified, as serious Death resulted in 528 (9.8%) of these cases. A total of 469 deaths were caused by medication errors.

Types of Errors:
The most common type of error was administering an improper dose, which accounted for 243 (40.9%) of all medication error types, with 216 patients (36.4%) receiving an overdose. The second most prevalent type of error was administering the incorrect drug to a patient. This error occurred 96 times (16%).
The third most prevalent type of error was administering a drug by the incorrect route. This error occurred in 57 patients (9.5%).