Medication prescribing errors: data from seven Lebanese hospitals.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacovigilance
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Medication prescribing errors represent a global challenge, yet specific data from Lebanon remain scarce.
• This study addresses the lack of comprehensive information on medication errors and drug-drug interactions within Lebanese hospitals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize medication errors, including drug-drug interactions, in medication orders for hospitalized patients in Lebanon.
• To identify the types and frequencies of prescribing errors and assess their association with adverse events.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 313 patients across seven Lebanese hospitals.
• Analysis of 1826 medication orders to identify prescribing errors and 456 drug-drug interactions.
• Statistical analysis using SPSS to evaluate the data.

Main Results:

• Approximately 40% of medication orders contained at least one prescribing error, with common errors including lack of monitoring parameters (20%) and unnecessary medications (9%).
• Errors were most frequent in pediatrics (50%) and internal medicine (40%) wards. Infectious or gastrointestinal issues increased error risk.
• 12 adverse medication events were reported, significantly associated with medication errors (OR=7.4, p=0.004). Drug-drug interactions were frequent, often involving high-risk medications and posing moderate to major clinical severity.

Conclusions:

• Urgent interventions are needed to mitigate the impact of medication errors and improve patient outcomes in Lebanon.
• Recommendations include integrating clinical pharmacists, implementing computerized prescribing systems, and enforcing drug management policies.
• These strategies aim to reduce prescribing errors and increase physician awareness of potential drug-drug interactions.