Medication Error Incidence and Reporting Culture at University College Hospital, Ibadan: A Pharmaceutical Chemistry Perspective

Medication errors represent a significant preventable cause of patient harm in hospital settings worldwide. In Nigeria, limited data exist on the incidence and nature of medication errors in tertiary hospitals, partly due to weak error reporting cultures and the absence of standardised incident reporting systems. This study assessed medication error incidence and the reporting culture at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, South West Nigeria, with a focus on the dispensing and compounding phases relevant to pharmaceutical chemistry practice. A six-month prospective study design combined direct observation of dispensing activities, review of prescription records, and structured interviews with pharmacy staff. Medication error rates were calculated per 1000 dispensed items. Interviews explored awareness of error reporting systems, perceived barriers, and institutional culture. The observed dispensing error rate was 4.2 per 1000 items dispensed, with wrong dose and wrong label among the most frequent error types. Near-miss events were significantly more common but rarely documented. Only 18% of staff felt comfortable reporting errors without fear of punitive consequences. Workload pressure and inadequate staffing were the most cited contributing factors. These findings identify systemic barriers to medication error reduction and reporting at UCH and recommend implementation of a just-culture error reporting framework alongside workforce planning interventions to reduce dispensing workload. Keywords: medication errors, dispensing, reporting culture, University College Hospital, Ibadan.