Knowledge based errors occur when there is a lack of knowledge that would affect the medication. For example, if the staff and patient did not know that the patient was allergic to penicillin, it could likely cause a knowledge based error. There is so much knowledge that doctor and medical staff need to properly treat a patient, and sometimes there is a gap between what they know and what they need to know. The causes of knowledge based medication errors are lack of knowledge regarding a patient’s medical history, allergies, diet, other prescriptions, and other relevant medical information.
Not knowing how two prescriptions will interact is also knowledge based cause of medication error. Incomplete patient information about which medications a patient is allergic to, other medications the patient is taking, previous diagnoses, or current lab results can all lead to errors.
