Perioperative medication errors

There has always been a necessary balance in medicine between the principles of diagnosis and treatment. However, the resources required to achieve such a balance are constantly changing. While the applied elements of medical diagnostics continue to evolve scientifically, the selection and delivery of a particular treatment regimen still require a human touch. Accordingly, at its most fundamental level, the successful delivery of a specific therapeutic intervention and the prevention of error require administration of the correct medication in the correct dose via the correct route at the correct time to the correct patient. These fundamental steps are made increasingly difficult by the ever-expanding diversity and variable potency of medications available to practitioners.