Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Why do interns make prescribing errors? A qualitative study.

Ian D Coombes1, Danielle A Stowasser, Judith A Coombes

  • 1Pharmacy Department, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Ian_coombes@health.qld.gov.au

The Medical Journal of Australia
|January 22, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Pharmacist-led transition of care services in patients with cardiovascular disease: a systematic scoping review.

Cardiology·2025
Same author

Association Between Hip Translation and Hip Rotation and Anatomy: A Pilot Quasi-static MRI Study.

Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine·2024
Same author

Unplanned Rehospitalisation due to Medication Harm following an Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Cardiology·2024
Same author

Multifaceted pharmacist-led interventions in secondary care settings between countries of various income levels: a scoping review protocol.

BMJ open·2024
Same author

A Brief Review of Inpatient Palliative Rehabilitation.

JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association·2023
Same author

ChatGPT versus clinician: challenging the diagnostic capabilities of artificial intelligence in dermatology.

Clinical and experimental dermatology·2023
Same journal

Still Treating Yesterday's Risk? Reconsidering Antiviral Use for Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19 Cases in a Broadly Immune Population.

The Medical journal of Australia·2026
Same journal

Striving for Racial Equity in Oral Cancer Research: A Case Study.

The Medical journal of Australia·2026
Same journal

Progressing Cross-Sector Collaboration for People With Eating Disorders and Higher Weight: Priority Actions From an Expert Roundtable Using a Modified Nominal Group Technique.

The Medical journal of Australia·2026
Same journal

Self-Poisoning With Prazosin and Its Off-Label Use in Australia, 2014-2024: Analysis of NSW Poisons Information Centre Data.

The Medical journal of Australia·2026
Same journal

Drivers of Vaccine Uptake for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children to Inform Tailored Strategies: A Qualitative Study Exploring Health Service Provider Perspective.

The Medical journal of Australia·2026
Same journal

Four Urgent Actions for the Rights to Culturally Safe Breastfeeding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers and Babies to Breastfeed in Neonatal Intensive Care Environments.

The Medical journal of Australia·2026
See all related articles

Intern prescribing errors stem from multiple factors, not just drug knowledge. Interventions must address patient, task, individual, team, and environmental influences to improve medication safety.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Education
  • Patient Safety
  • Human Factors Engineering

Background:

  • Intern prescribing errors pose a significant risk to patient safety.
  • Understanding the multifactorial nature of these errors is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and analyze the underlying factors contributing to intern prescribing errors.
  • To inform the development of targeted medication safety interventions.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective qualitative study utilizing face-to-face interviews and human-factor analysis.
  • Analysis of 21 prescribing errors involving 14 intern prescribers.
  • Structured questionnaires and thematic analysis based on human-error theory.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Prescribing errors were multifactorial, with a median of 4 influencing factors per error.
  • New-prescribing errors involved team, individual, patient, and task factors; represcribing errors involved environment, task, and time.
  • Defenses against error and supervision were often inadequate, influenced by a culture viewing prescribing as a low-risk task.

Conclusions:

  • Reducing intern prescribing errors requires a comprehensive strategy addressing patient, task, individual, team, and environmental factors.
  • Interventions should focus on systemic issues rather than solely on intern knowledge deficits.