Medication Errors in Veterinary Medicine

Ever grabbed the wrong syringe mid-case, caught yourself, and thought — what if I hadn't? In this episode, Maryann, Travis, and Tracey dig into a real-world Canadian study on voluntary pre-anesthetic medication error reporting and have an honest conversation about the habits and system failures that put our patients at risk.

The data is humbling: technicians were involved in 72% of reported errors — but also caught 66% of them. That's a call to build better systems and smarter habits. Tune in for the stats, the personal near-misses, and the practical protocols that can protect your patients and your team.

Key Topics Discussed

• The Calgary Study: Out of 2,728 procedures, 48 errors were analyzed — 47% during the premedication/sedation stage, 63% wrong dose, and opioids as the most error-prone drug class.
• The Decimal Point Problem: 23% of wrong-dose errors were tenfold overdoses from a single misplaced decimal. Knowing your expected dose ranges is one of your strongest safety tools.
• The Human Element: Techs were involved in 72% of errors and caught 66% of them — most often through independent double checks. We discuss how to make self-checking standard, not optional.
• Gold-Standard Prevention Protocols: The Five Rights, never letting an unlabeled syringe leave your hand, Vetwrap checkpoints for local blocks, no-interruption zones during drug prep, and always verifying syringe pump rates against a hand-calculated reference.
• Why Cats Are Not Small Dogs: Feline enzyme deficiencies (UGT class) lead to prolonged drug half-lives, opioid hyperactivity, and serious NSAID toxicity when dog doses are applied without adjustment.
• Breed, Genetics & Exotic Variations: MDR1 mutations in herding breeds, Von Willebrand's in Dobermans, and dramatically different exotic dosing — like dobutamine CRI ranges of 10–80 mcg/kg/min in rabbits vs. 2–10 in dogs and cats.
• Building a Judgment-Free Safety Culture: Why newer techs hesitate to speak up — and how mentors can normalize uncertainty and give trainees permission to pause before administering anything they're unsure about.

Questions to Think About While You Listen:

1. When did you last catch a medication error? What habit made that possible?
2. Is your prep area set up to support focus, or does it invite interruption at the worst moment?
3. Are your newer team members truly empowered to say "can you check this with me?"

Team Challenge: The Five-Second Label RuleNothing leaves your hand without a label — drug name, concentration, and patient name, minimum. No exceptions. Start this week and make it contagious on your team.

Links:

• Voluntarily reported preanesthetic medication errors — AVMA
• WSU MDR1 (ABCB1) Genetic Testing Program
• The RECOVER Initiative
• ACVAA Monitoring Guidelines

A Note on Our Content: The views, opinions, and personal experiences shared by the hosts are for educational and entertainment purposes only. While our hosts are VTS in Anesthesia & Analgesia, nothing discussed should replace direct veterinarian approval or institutional oversight. Every patient is unique. Always consult the attending veterinarian before implementing new protocols.

As always, thank you for listening! Send feedback or suggestions to hello@caresvetmed.com or find us at @CARESVetMed. Let us know if you'd like to join us on a future episode!

Take care, friends!