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Hospital prescribing errors: epidemiological assessment of predictors.
R Fijn1, P M L A Van den Bemt, M Chow
1Groningen University Institute for Drug Exploration (GUIDE), University of Groningen, Department of Social Pharmacy and Pharmacoepidemiology, Groningen, The Netherlands. R.Fijn@apoth.azg.nl
British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
|March 5, 2002
Summary
This study identified key factors contributing to medication prescribing errors, including prescriber specialty and drug characteristics like dosage form. Hospitals can use this epidemiological method to reduce errors by focusing on high-risk areas.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacy
- Epidemiology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Medication prescribing errors pose a significant risk to patient safety.
- Identifying predictors of these errors is crucial for developing targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate an epidemiological method for assessing predictors of prescribing errors.
- To identify specific prescriber and drug characteristics associated with medication errors.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective case-control study design was employed.
- Prescriptions with and without errors were compared to identify associated factors.
Main Results:
- Prescriber characteristics (medical specialty, status) and drug characteristics (dosage form, therapeutic area, continuation of preadmission treatment) were significantly associated with prescribing errors.
- Specific examples include orthopaedic specialty (OR: 3.4), verbal orders (OR: 2.5), inhalation devices (OR: 4.1), gastrointestinal drugs (OR: 1.7), and continuation of treatment (OR: 1.7).
Conclusions:
- The epidemiological framework can be adapted by other hospitals to identify local error predictors.
- Interventions should focus on high-risk prescribers, specific dosage forms, and therapeutic areas.
- Prescriptions from general practitioners warrant careful review upon patient hospitalization.
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