OncologyNurses'Perceptions AboutInvolvingPatientsinthePrevention ofChemotherapyAdministrationErrors

edication errors are among the most serious class of errors and may cause considerable harm. Although any drug is susceptible to errors, chemotherapy presents special dangers because many agents have a narrow therapeutic index and are toxic even at therapeutic dosages, chemotherapy regi-mens are highly complex, and patients with cancer are a vulnerable population with little tolerance (Muller, 2003). Adverse event studies have reported that errors in administration of chemotherapy occur frequently (Gandhi et al., 2005; Lustig, 2000). Walsh et al. (2009) observed an error rate of 8.2 per 1,000 medication orders among adult patients with cancer in the outpatient set-ting. Five medication errors per 1,000 orders had the potential to cause harm, and one error per 1,000 orders resulted in injury (Walsh et al., 2009). Common errors included under- and overdosing, schedule and timing errors, and other incidents, such as infusion rate errors. Analysis of the MEDMARX